


Irregularity

by ur_the_puppy



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Carmilla - Freeform, F/F, Hollstein - Freeform, Werecat!Carmilla, Werecat!Lafontaine, Werewolf AU, Werewolf!Kirsch, catmilla, lil angst, much fluff im trash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-18 06:36:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 57,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5902132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ur_the_puppy/pseuds/ur_the_puppy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carmilla Karnstein has lived her whole life without any trouble. She fell in love, got engaged and within all that time never lost contact with her father and landed a job at the local police station. Until one night, everything goes to hell, and she realises why the moon calls to her at night. Pulled into a foreign world, Carmilla tries to deal with new revelations and keeping her own life in check. But how long can she keep herself out of an ancient rivalry between the werewolves and the werecats?</p><p>or a.k.a werewolf au i.e. having fun with the cat part of carmilla</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rules Are Meant to be Broken

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first fanfic so I don't really have the hang of things, feel free to give advice and stuff like that. Also I'm not the best at spelling/grammar so if you see a typo that is driving you mad, let me know :)

“Something’s wrong” said the young woman, gazing down at her newly born child.

“Sarah don’t say that” Her husband scolded, still tightly clutching her hand.

“Can’t you smell it?” Sarah pressed, lifting her sight off her child and straight into Mark’s eyes, “She’s not like us isn’t she?” her question was left unanswered, instead lingering in the air because neither dare to answer it. They knew. But still they had hope, even if it was on its last miniscule shred. Mark looked around the empty barn; no one was here except for them… no one would know except for them.

“What are we going to do?” Sarah croaked, desperately trying to hold back her emotions.

“Hey everything’s going to be fine, alright?” he offered a supportive smile, leaning forward and giving a soft peck on the cheek. The newly named mother couldn’t help but grin widely as she looked down once more at her child; she wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

“We have to tell the council they’ll know what to do,” said Sarah, causing a cold shiver to spiral down her husband’s spine.

“I don’t know I don’t trust them, they’re still stuck in the old ways.”

“What other choice do we have?” She pleaded. There was thick silence before either kept going.

“Fine” Mark sighs, “but if anything goes wrong, we do my plan”

“You’re plan?” Sarah scoffs, “what are you going to do, kill everyone who has the wrong idea?” Mark doesn’t reply, instead aiming his gaze towards the rustic floorboards and taking a deep breath.

“If anything goes wrong, we do what we have to do.”

 

***

 

“You know I really think that was a _great_ idea!” Mark panted as the couple sprinted straight through the wooden doors, making the dooors smack right into the guards on the outside.

“Do you honestly think _this_ is the fucking time?” Sarah snapped back, abruptly grabbing Mark’s arm and veering them right. Mark chuckled in response, although his laugh came out more like a series of quick breaths.

“Hey you shouldn’t say words like that around the baby” Mark sarcastically replied, allowing a smug grin to spread on his face.

“Shut up! Fuck where’s our damn car?” Sarah asks breathless, swiftly snatching Mark’s shoulder and pulling him to a stop. They were at the entrance to the forest; the looming tree’s gently swaying in the breeze while the two people on the ground were trying to run for their lives.

“They can track us too easily,” Mark reasoned, taking the baby from Sarah’s arms and allowing her to rest.

“Shit, get behind the wall” the young woman barked, shoving Mark and tumbling in after him. Shuffling downwards, the couple crouched down, the only sound being the panting of their breaths. Mere minutes later, a group of guards sprinted past, luckily not even glancing in their direction.

“Alright time for this plan of yours” Sarah whispered, carefully popping her head above the small wall searching for any sign of movement.

 

Since they had now stopped moving, Mark took the opportunity to scan their surroundings. They were in what appears to be a stable, the short cement wall facing towards the ginormous mansion of the council while the right hand side was made of mostly wood, being the heart of the structure. There were what looked to be four boxes for the horses, the gear lining the stable on the right-hand side wooden wall. Two beautiful horses were pacing around in their areas, idly standing around and nipping at the gates.

“I have a very crazy idea,” Mark whispered back. Sarah immediately rolled her eyes.

“Well unfortunately we’re not exactly swimming in options so whatever it is lets do it” said Sarah, giving one last look above the wall before directing all her attention to the man in front of her.

“Just one question” Mark said taking a deep breath, “how do you feel about horseback riding?”

 

 

**_ONE YEAR LATER_ **

****

The slamming of the door caused Sarah to jump, but she immediately smiled the second she saw Mark shuffle through the door with groceries hand in hand.

“Hey honey” Sarah grinned, standing up and planting a soft peck to the lips, “How was your day?”

“Oh it was fine, the usual customers and whatnot” Sarah pleasantly nodded along, helping out with the bags and carefully unpacking them.

“Are you running tonight?” Mark asks, picking up the meats and placing them in the fridge.

“Uh no I was going to tomorrow” said Sarah ducking her head, “I actually have something we need to do”

“Is changing on that list?” Mark says while raising an eyebrow.

“Fine, I’ll do it tonight but listen, we need to change our names because honestly it’s a miracle we’ve lasted this long”

“We’ve lasted this long because we don’t give out our names” Mark corrects pointing at her “what’s the problem?”

“We can’t live off cash Mark, we, _I_ need some assurance” Sarah offered her most convincing pout, “Please?”

Damn it. Sarah knew he could never say no to the pout.

“Alright but you owe me, you know how much my name means” Mark sighs, walking over and collapsing onto the sofa, his wife followed soon after, cuddling up next to him. They didn’t speak straight away, instead very much enjoying the close line of realities between sleep and consciousness; humming in unison, gently letting their eyes flutter close and listening only to each other’s heart beats.

“I know” Sarah mumbles, “I know how much your granddad means to you”, Mark hums in response.

“Name ideas?” He softly asks, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.

“Hmm I was thinking Mircalla, I always saw myself as that”

“You are not changing your name to Mircalla” Mark mocks.

“Why not?” Sarah defends slightly offended.

“ _Because_ our daughter is named Carmilla and I for one am not ready for that confusion”

“Fine” The mother huffs before quickly returning to her usual bubbly self, “Hey what about Liam for you?”

“Liam?”

“Yeah”

“It’s not that bad actually,” Mark ponders, “although it better not be one of your childhood crushes names”

“I swear it’s not” Sarah chuckles, adjusting her position so her head sits on top of his chest.

“Good because for you, I was thinking…”

“I’m not changing my name to Hermione” Sarah interrupts firmly.

“Oh misses no fun, you are completely throwing away the fun we could have!” Sarah just shakes her head in response.

“What about Piper?” asks Sarah, trying to look up at him.

“That’s nice” Mark hums, opening his eyes “Yeah Piper… that has nickname and pun value” Sarah scoffs before instantly swatting his chest, Mark just laughs.

“So that’s it?” Mark questions, gazing downwards at _Piper_.

“I believe so… _Liam_ ” Sarah mocks. Before they could finally relax and be pulled into their own dreams, a loud cry echoes through the caravan.

“Well Piper you better go check on Carmilla, our child seems to be objecting our new name choices”

“Noo it’s your turn isn’t it?” Sarah whines. Mark just slowly shakes his head, watching with the happiest smile as the love of his life grumpily hops off the couch and down the hall.

“I love you,” He whispers to himself just as he leans deeper into the couch and shuts his exhausted eyes.

 

**_THREE YEARS LATER_ **

****

“Happy birthday sweetie!” Piper smiles, slowly walking into the main room while balancing a large rainbow ice-cream cake.

“Really!” Carmilla squeals, quickly jumping off the couch.

“Here, just for the birthday girl I made you your favourite cake!” Piper gently places the cake down on the table, feeling her heart swell as Carmilla stares at the cake googly-eyed.

“Can I eat it now?” The small girl asks, already licking her lips.

“Not quite yet honey, we’ve gotta put on the candle first!” Carmilla’s face swiftly morphs from a frown to a wide grin as she spots her mum pull out a drawer, and reveal a giant number 4 with a small bit of string on the top. Carmilla eagerly jumps up clapping her hands as Piper leans forward and carefully pushes the candle in the cake while pulling out a match, it instantly catches a lot shining happily as it jumps onto the wax candle.

“Now you remember what you have to do Carm?” Carmilla nods her head vigorously. The little girl shuts her eyes tight, thinking so hard that her nose is bunched up which just makes her parents giggle.

“Stop laughing at me,” she demands, her nose is still bunched except this time because she’s upset.

“You’re right honey, sorry” Liam holds his breath, doing the ‘my lips are sealed’ motion across his mouth. Carmilla approvingly nods before going back to making her wish, after a few seconds she enthusiastically blows at the candle, snubbing the flame out. Her parents both cheer which just makes her even happier.

 

“Alright so we’re going to cut the ca-“ Piper freezes while pulling out the drawer.

“Sweetie?” Liam asks, lightly putting his hands on her shoulder.

“Did you hear that?” Her previous mood has completely dropped, now a face of dread and anger replaced what was once there. Carmilla stands very still, she remembers being told that if mum or dad says they’ve head something she must stay very still and not make a sound. Piper and Liam straighten their back, their eyes seemingly focused nowhere.

“Did you put the stuff outside?” Piper asks Liam while slowly taking out the knife. The two adults stare into each other’s eyes, as if having an entire separate conversation without words.

“No” Liam replies shakily, taking a quick glance at Carmilla who seems to be growing more afraid by the second, “It’s okay angel come on, I’m gonna go get you one last present and then I’ll be right back”

“No I’ll go” Piper quickly interrupts, Liam replies with an intense stare but gives up.

“Fine just… be careful” Piper nods before pacing over the small oak chest of drawers by the door, pulling it open and picking out a bunch of purple flowers.

“Why are you getting flowers mum?” Carmilla asks curiously.

“It’s not flowers” Piper replies dully, Liam gives her a look “It’s uh a special plant, you see I heard an animal outside and think it’s hungry” Piper seems to be giving off a painfully fake smile, her voice a higher pitch than usual.

“Can I help?” Carmilla questions, excitement rising in her chest.

“No, but what do you remember that we say about animals?” Liam insists, placing his hands on her shoulders.

“Don’t touch an animal unless you say I can” The small girl replies slowly, trying to remember as perfectly as possible.

“That’s right” Piper smiles “so this time mummy is going to go take care of the animal, you stay with dad okay?” Carmilla smiles proudly, she got it completely right.

“Actually,” Liam gives her a puzzled look as Piper reaches into her back pocket, pulling out a small red velvet box, the size for rings, “for your birthday Carm.” Piper hands her the box and kisses the top of her head before kneeling down, and wrapping her arms around her. Carmilla love when her mum gives her these hugs.

Piper gives one last kiss to the forehead before letting go and heading for the door.

“Happy birthday Carmilla” Piper smirked, giving one last nod to Liam before going outside. Liam waits a couple seconds before going back to business.

“So, you want some cake kitty?” He says cheerfully which of course infectiously jumps to his daughter.

“Hey I’m not a kitty” Carmilla frowns.

“Oh yes you are” Liam chuckles, ruffling up her hair. “Now you ready for cake?”

“I’m not hungry anymore” The girl responds a little disappointed, “Mummy isn’t here anymore”

“Hey, Carm, don’t worry mum we’ll be back soon” Liam gives her his best most genuine smile, and it works, Carmilla beams back.

“Here why don’t you open mum’s present for you?” Liam suggests, which his daughter eagerly agrees to. The box feels nice in her hands, it’s like really short fur but on a box, she’s definitely keeping this for later. The box is harder then it looks to open, but when she managers to use her tiny fingers to pull it open, the second it lifts just a little it flings up. Her jaw drops instantly.

“It’s a ring!” She squeals uncontrollably.

“Oh wow! Do you want to put it on?” Carmilla nods within a heartbeat, so with permission, he carefully takes the box out of her hands and pulls out the ring. It’s pure silver, a blank panther engraved on the metal, it’s body stretches over the entire ring so it appears as if it’s chasing its tail.

“It’s so pretty!” Carmilla exclaims as her Dad gently slides on the ring.

“Well your mum really loves you, now I know it’s really cool so you have to make very special care not to lose it” Carmilla just nods, her gaze transfixed on the ring. He’s glad she loves it.

 

It’s been half an hour; she hasn’t come back.

“Hey sweetie?” Liam knocks on her door before coming in.

“Hey dad”

“Hey angel” He makes his way to sit on the bed, Carmilla is trying her absolute best to read this picture book about farm animals, it makes her oddly hungry… she should’ve eaten that cake.

“Carm your mum’s been out for a while so I’m just going to go check on her okay?”

“Okay”

“Now remember, if you hear someone knock that isn’t our knock what do you do?”

“Go into the closet and into the secret cupboard” Liam grins back at her proudly.

“That’s right, now I’ll be back soon, use your torch I’m going to have to turn the lights off”

“Okay” He gives her a small kiss to the forehead before heading out the door.

 

It’s been an hour and half now; mum and dad haven’t come back yet.

It’s been two hours now; dad has come back but mum wasn’t with him. He says she probably just got lost.

It’s morning now; mum hasn’t come back yet.

It’s been three days now; dad has been in and out a lot.

It’s been two weeks now; dad says she’s not coming back.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you enjoyed!! Again, feel free to leave advice and the next chapter should be up in a few days :)


	2. Sunny Days

_**TWENTY-THREE YEARS LATER** _

 

“Shit, shit, shit, shit” The panicking dark haired girl was shoving her hands through her clothes drawer, flying shirts and tops were spinning around the room; littering her bed.

“Fuck!” She shouted, covering her face with her hands before collapsing on the bed. A quick and loud stomping that was growing nearer caused her to sit up abruptly, the door soon flung open.

“What’s wrong?” The young woman asks annoyed, hands in the air.

“I-It’s my ring” Carmilla stammers, “I can’t find it.” The other girl immediately sighs, offering a sad smile.

“Want me to help you find it?” she says walking over to her.

“Thanks L” Laura smiles back, giving a quick peck to the lips before walking over to her fiancée’s jewelry box. It’s likely she already checked there but she’s so nervous she probably didn’t notice. Laura gently lifts the metal hatch and opens the decorative silver box, inside in the top right hand corner, is a slightly battered red velvet box. A wide grin appears on Laura’s face.

“It’s right here Sherlock,” she says looking over her shoulder.

“What?” Carmilla replies surprised, quickly hopping off the bed and over to Laura.

“Here” Laura carefully picks it up and softly drops it into the other girl’s hands; Carmilla lets out a happy gasp.

“Thank you thank you thank you” The girl excitedly squeals, wrapping her arms around Laura tightly. After a few long seconds, Carmilla released her grip, opening the box and sliding on the ring.

“We’ve gotta go Carm, your Dad hates when we’re late” Laura smiles before swiveling around and grabbing her jacket on the bed. Carmilla returns a small smile, more focused on the fact on why he hates when she’s late… he still feels guilty. Maybe this time his mind will change.

“Right yeah, I’m coming”

 

***

 

“We’ll have the bill please,” Liam politely asks, nodding curtly. The waitress nods back, rushing off to her next table.

“I figured I’d remind you that you’re not paying” The young woman whispers into his ear.

“Carmilla of course I’m paying” He scoffs, tidying up his end of the table.

“Really sir, we insist” Laura adds.

“Call me Liam, we’ve known each other long enough” He said, taking one last sip from his wine. Carmilla chuckled in response.

“Took you years to get a first name basis” Carmilla mutters bitterly. Liam ignores her comment.

“Well then its settled” he claps, “I’ll pay.”

“Let’s split it?” Laura offers, already quite exhausted from the evening out; she looks to her fiancée pleadingly.

“Uh yeah dad, let’s split it” Carmilla responds, pulling out her wallet. Liam gives in with a dramatic sigh, also reaching for his wallet. After paying and saying their good byes to the manager, the three adults walk out into the warm dark outdoors, a cool breeze touching their faces.

 

“That was very lovely girl’s, thank you”

“No problem” Laura grins, leaning in for a one-arm hug “I’ll meet you in the car” she smiles once more, giving a quick peck on the cheek to Carmilla and walking off. Liam watches her cautiously, when the brunette walks around the corner, his shoulders relax.

“It’s been like six years dad, you can trust her” Carmilla sighs.

“I just worry is all” He defends; finally dragging his eyes back to his daughter.

“Honestly you worry too much”

“You can never be too careful” He advises, pointing his finger jokingly.

“Just shut up and give me a hug” the daughter and her father hug tightly, her father in his own self-made wall of horrors in his mind while his daughter remained in blissful ignorance; he knew he would have to tell her soon. Not now, but soon. Soon they let go, say their good-byes and leave their separate ways, it wasn’t long before Carmilla made her way over to the car.

“Hey babe” Carmilla coo’s “you mind if I walk home?”

“Something wrong?” Laura questions slightly worried.

“No, no, I just feel like walking by the forest”

“At this hour?” Laura picks out her phone from her pocket, lifting up the screen to her face, trying to convince her to stay.

“I’ll be fine” Carmilla assures, smiling at how over-protective she was being.

“Fine” she huffs “but if you’re going to be out late-late be sure to call me yeah?”

“Of course” Carmilla confirms, leaning in for a swift kiss just as she’s about to drive off.

“Be careful!” Laura shouts as the car rolls off, waving her arm out the window.

“I will!” she shouts back, unable to contain her giggles.

 

Carmilla doesn’t really know why she decided to walk back home. It was more of an impulse decision, no, more like a craving like if you had an urge to eat an apple, something within; not thought out. It was clear that it wasn’t thought out, although the house isn’t too far it’s up to debate on how reliable Google maps is. But the call from the forest is strange, a part of Carmilla always seems to turn that way, no matter where she stood and she knew Liam feels it too, he went in walks in the forest every week growing up. Guess it’s a family thing.

 

The stars danced in the sky proudly, shining down whilst battling with all their might to fight through the clouds. She was transfixed by its beauty and hypnotized by the smells; oak and wet moss tingling her senses. She tried to stay on the path but there was a magnetic force pulling her into the trees, her feet would crunch on the autumn leaves; she felt so weirdly at peace. Unfortunately her clarity didn’t last long, as while she was slowly pacing through absorbing everything, she heard what she would guess to be a bunch of teens, most likely around three from the sound. With a deep breath, she trekked on; easily spotting the teens up ahead in the dark… it took them a while longer to see her.

“Great, drunk teens” she sighs, giving a small smile and walking past but she couldn’t help but hear the chatter of the three boys.

 

“You smell that?” The red haired boy said.

“What is that?” The more muscular looking one said, he had quite a confident demeanor compared to the two boys, they probably listen to him.

“It’s an aelurus”

“Serious?”

“It smells different” The short one interrupted.

“He’s right Jake, it’s like… off”

“Where’s it coming from? Do you know the reward for these things?” The boys stopped in their tracks, Carmilla had lingered past them her curiosity chaining her to the conversation. Then they raised their heads and started sniffing, trying to catch any scent that could lead them to their prize, it took a few seconds before the three them whipped their heads around to Carmilla. Carmilla jumped back, fear started to build up in her chest.

“You kid’s alright?” Carmilla asked, her voice slightly trembling.

“Thought you lads died out,” said the muscular one, Jake.

“I’m sorry?” said Carmilla confused.

“Don’t play dumb, we could smell you from a mile away”

“You clearly didn’t as I saw you before you ‘smelt’ me” she chuckled back, taking a few steps backwards, “now I don’t know nor do I care what you’re on but just leave me alone.” As she turned around the red head teen dashed in front her, only a couple feet away.

“How did you?” Before she could finish her sentence she found herself on the dirt ground, a pulsating pain in her stomach.

“Did you just fucking kick me?” Carmilla coughed, anger infecting the fear in her chest.

“You have no idea how rich you are about to make us” Jake snickered.

“You have no idea who you’re messing with kid” Carmilla aggressively spitted back. Within the second she whipped out her leg, sending the kid to the floor.

“Fuck!” he panted before Carmilla jumped up and kicked him hard in the stomach, causing blood to fly out of his mouth, the other kids caught on quick charging at her. The short one lunged at her, she easily moved out the way grabbing his arm and twisting it sending him to the floor, then forcing downwards for more intense pain.

“Help!” The teen wailed but the aggravated woman just flipped him over and punched him, knocking him out. She then stood up staring the last kid in the eye, it was clear he was afraid, after seeing his friends being beaten to a pulp his once confident attitude had been striped away.

“Hey… it’s all cool, we can leave you alone, forget this ever happened…” He was raising his hands in surrender, slowly walking backwards as Carmilla took leisurely steps forward.

“Hmm you know I’m not feeling it” she mocked, “I think it’d be much better if you learnt what happens when you mess people who don’t want to be messed with.” When the words left her mouth she immediately raised her fist, offering a smug smirk before knocking Jake to the ground. The three teens were scattered around her moaning in agony on the wet dirt, barely able to move.

“That’s what you get for messing someone who was forced to do martial arts since-“ All of the sudden her flow words stopped, her vision started to blur, trees turning into paintings before her eyes, the darkness growing louder in her head.

“What the?” She mumbled out before collapsing to the ground. A thin man in a well-tailored suit looked down at the body, sliding the syringe back in his pocket.

“Seems to be my lucky day” He grinned, his voice cracked and sinister, “let’s go back home”.

 

***

 

Laura was growing more and more anxious. It had been three hours and no notification of any kind of where her fiancée would be, just the conversation on constant replay in her head. This definitely counts as late-late, so why isn’t she calling? Did she forget? No she wouldn’t forget unless… there’s someone else? Oh god what if there’s someone else and she just uses the ring to pick up people at bars and I’ll live alone for the rest my life with twenty cats-

“Laura, calm down” she mutters to herself.

“She’ll call soon” she assures herself once more, deciding to close her eyes and fall asleep; she would be back when she wakes up.

 

***

 

She awoke with the most intense headache she’s ever experienced, it pierced through her skull, scrapping at every individual nerve cell. It took her a few seconds for her vision to return, and even then it was a mess of blurs and over-spilling colours.

“Welcome back” the man smiled, leaning downwards to stare her in the eye.

“What?” Carmilla mumbled, her senses starting to recover. The man reached out his hand trying to push her chin up but she instantly shook her head at the touch, making her realize she couldn’t move.

“Am I tied up?” said Carmilla struggling with the rope tied behind her hands, her voice etched with fear.

“Good observation girl” He chuckled, “I’m not really one for small talk so let’s cut to the chase,” he claps his hand together eagerly.

“The chase?” She asks confused, starting to notice her surroundings… she was in an abandoned warehouse. He quirks an eyebrow in response before reaching into his suit jacket pocket, pulling out a ring, panic immediately courses through her body.

“Where did you get that” Carmilla snaps, an unknown rage growing in her stomach.

“Why from you my dear, your kind always seems have one of these pretty little trinkets”

“My kind?” She responds baffled, “what are you talking about?”

“Your kind? Aelurus?” when she doesn’t respond, he scoffs in disbelief, “wait, are you saying you don’t know what you are?”

“What I am? Are you high? Just let me go you damn creep and give my ring back” she shakes in the metal chair, hoping to make the chair fall over and in front of the metal pole to her right; the corner was ripped open slightly.

“Wow! I figured you guys stuck together, you know considering the whole ‘rare’ thing and all that” His original anger had morphed into curiosity.

“Just give me the ring” Carmilla growls, surprising herself when she swears she actually hears herself slightly growl.

“Why? It mean something to you?” The man inquires, a wide smirk spreading on his face. Carmilla instantly backtracks.

“No, of course not, I just don’t like you touching my shit” she spits, slowly nudging the chair over to the pole. He doesn’t notice the nudge.

“So if I were to say break it, you wouldn’t care?” he sneers.

“No.” She snarls, nudging sideways once more.

“What if I lost it?”

“I. Wouldn’t. Care.” She grunts through gritted teeth, only inches away from the pole.

“Not even if I swallowed?” He was distracted in his bubble, thinking as many ways as possible to torture his prey. Carmilla was in place, ready to tip over until his words finally grabbed her full attention. She froze.

“Wait aren’t you that run away? With that Mark n’ Sarah couple?” He asks nonchalantly.

“H-How do you know those names?” She stammers, her eyes starting to gloss over.

“How do I know those names? Those people killed an elder! That shit spreads like wild fire through the ages” He snickers uncontrollably. When she still doesn’t respond, he laughs start to drift over, realization hitting him instead.

“Hold up… you’re their kid aren’t you?” His harsh green eyes widen.

“N-no I’m just me, I don’t know wha-“

“Holy shit! Holy fucking shit! I’m gonna be rich!” He let’s out a surprised gasp before calming down once more, this time going close towards her face, inches away.

“Guess what kid,” he whispers, nearly laughing at the sight of the tears on her face, “I was there when that bitch died.”

“What bitch?” said Carmilla, a primal rage starting to build up in her chest. He gives one last grin, before leaning forward towards her ear.

“She screamed a lot,” He mutters happily.

“You fucker!” She roars, kicking him in the stomach harshly sending him into the cold hard floor. Her chair flies backwards, but a strange rush floods her body, allowing her to easily rip through the rope.

“Woo!” He shouts, jumping up from the floor, “You got a bit of a kick aye?” Before Carmilla could get in another punch, a sharp and intense pain paralyzes her body. She immediately falls to the floor groaning, the pain growing more and more intense like as if someone was turning the dial up on her body; her spine started to rise, stretching out long enough to form a tail bone, her jaw was pulled open by an unseen force, only screams of agony made it through while her bones themselves morphed and cracked.

“What the hell is happening?!” She screams, watching in horror as hands snap and bend into paws.

“You’re gonna make me rich that’s what! Now could you stand still and make this easy?” He laughs greedily, observing in awe as the once helpless woman was changing before his eyes. But then her mind changed, like a switch. She knew who she was, in a sense, but all she could feel was a deep and strong hunger… the pain was gone.

“Hey... wait a minute” His smile dropped. Carmilla snarled, barring her teeth.

“Why are you…” He started walking back, Carmilla paced forward; her eyes deadlocked on her target.

“What are you?” he panted, unknown anxiety beating in his chest. The creature before him didn’t flinch, instead finally roaring in fury before pouncing on the stranger’s body, instantly tearing at his throat. Blood sprayed everywhere; the dimmed spark in his eye disappearing like a candle being snubbed out, except this one ended in a mutilated corpse being torn to shreds. The animal continued on the raw flesh, a never-ending hunger craving the abnormally intoxicating taste flushing her senses, but the bliss didn’t last long, because then someone opened the door.

 

Liam stood fixed to the ground. In too many emotions to count, fear, anger, regret, happiness… it was everything he wanted yet at the same time the day he dreaded with every second of his life. And it couldn’t have ended more badly. He took a deep breath, eyeing down the panther with a soft stare, luckily it looked like it knew he was, she knew who he was.

“Carmilla?” He asks softly, bending his knees and raising his hands slowly, the Black Panther starts backing up from the body, more focused on the man in front of it.

“Carmilla it’s me, can you calm down for me?” The panther eyes him suspiciously and instead of doing what Liam hopes for, it starts to growl.

“Hey, hey, Carmilla” carefully stepping backwards and further away, Carmilla stops growling and can notably be seen to start to relax.

“Good, good… now just relax honey okay?” Carmilla listens this time and feels the change begin once more; the pain still unmistakably the same. She welps in agony, her bones starting to shrink and return to their normal size, Liam can’t help but cry at the sound of her bones breaking and rejoining. He watches with a sense of pride as in the place of a vicious animal was now a young woman, shivering and covered in blood. Carmilla couldn’t speak; still in shock of what had happened… was it even real? How did any of this even happen? Did she actually just turn in a giant black cat? A fucking panther?

“W-w-what” she stammers, clutching tightly at the jacket Liam had just handed to her, “What just happened?” she chokes out, putting her emotions aside for a single moment so as to confirm she isn’t insane. Liam takes a deep sigh.

“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you, it was safer if we didn’t-“

“Stop” she mutters softly.

“We had to keep you safe, it was our number one priority-“

“Please” she mutters louder this time, her eyes start to drip.

“The ring restricts you from changing, we made sure to get you one-“

“Shut up!” she yells, stopping her father dead in his tracks. “Just please for the love of god shut up! I don’t want to hear your fucking excuses as to what the actual hell is going on, I want to know why there’s a half eaten corpse next to me with his fucking guts inside me? And to know why you lied to me my entire life about something I think, is pretty fucking important!” Carmilla bellows, now swiftly standing up while Liam stays crouching on the floor.

“I don’t even know what to think right now but I do not need you freaking sugar coating everything so it’s fucking PG enough for you!”

“Carm…”

“NO! You don’t get to speak! You don’t get to say anything but the straight bloody truth. You are going to answer whatever I ask and you are going to tell me fucking everything”

“Carm it’s not that simple-“

“I don’t fucking care!” She snaps, her anger fueling her mind. “I don’t care about morals or rules or honestly anything, I just care about the answers for why I just fucking killed and ate a man!”

“He wasn’t a man.” Liam interrupts.

“He wasn’t a man?” She scoffs aggressively “Oh well then that makes it okay then, you know since even though a puppy isn’t a man it’s totally okay to kill them”

“This isn’t about damn puppies!”

“THEN WHAT THE HELL IS IT?” Carmilla screams, her voice banging off the metal walls.

“Werewolves Carmilla! There are werewolves and there are you, leopards, but for some reason you aren’t one!” He snaps, way over his breaking point.

“Werewolves?” She stutters silently.

“Yes Carmilla. Werewolves. I’m one, your mother was one and some how, you weren’t. That’s why we changed our names, were always on the move, taught all those things about hearing and smell-”

“Mum?” Carmilla asks sadly, her emotions so raw and pure it was like new scars were being sliced while old ones were being slowly torn open.

 

Liam stays quiet for a moment, his repressed memories coming back.

“Yeah, Piper”

“Sarah?” She sobs, unable to hold back her tears.

“Yes. Sarah. The werewolves… killed her. While we were on the run… we messed up one night and it-“ His voice broke, making him pause to regain himself. He can’t lie any longer. “She was murdered by them, because when you were born it was unknown for a cat to be born in a wolf clan, they wanted you dead” He lets out a nostalgic chuckle, “Your mother wouldn’t have that so, we ran.”

“He was there” She replies softly, staring at the floor unable to look him in the eye, “that man uh wolf, he was there when she was killed.” Liam’s eyes widen.

“That’s why I changed,” said Carmilla, finally lifting her gaze “that’s why I killed him with not a single drip of regret in my bones.” Liam can’t stay strong any longer, his emotions strangle him, wet tears streaming from his eyes as he lunges at his daughter, hugging as if she was about to be dragged away forever. She hugs back eagerly, her eyes shut so tight there are spirals in her sight, the only thing grounding her being the ragged breaths from both of them.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers.

“I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Also so thank you for any and all of the support, next chapter will be up in a few days :)


	3. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little longer so I hope you enjoy c:

There’s a weird place between extremes. Between rage and peacefulness, despair and joy, love and hate; there’s this place in between made just for when you hit the extremes. When you hit the bottom. It’s unlike any emotion, in that it’s practically emotionless, it’s the breath you take after the slam of a door, the deep long sigh after you shed your last tear; it’s the aftermath. Because that was what she was, the broken pieces of a proud tower, the dust from the storm, the last rain drop in a desert and she could feel it with every ounce of her shivering bones. The realization was the hardest hit of all, her father had lied to her every day of her life, and he lied about her mother’s death. Her mother… she was murdered, she wasn’t in a random car accident wandering lost on the road in the middle of the night, No. She was out here hating driving with every ounce of her being while her mother’s killer slept each night. While they drank and lived, ate and loved, breathed the air that shouldn’t be there’s, she stayed at home doing nothing. But not anymore, she will kill every tainted soul that dares stand in her way. In the way of revenge.

The loud deafening sound of her phone pulled her out of her own trance, her attention being slowly directed back into the existing world.

“Shit…” she mutters, watching from afar as Laura’s face once again lights up her screen; she had been calling constantly for 15 straight minutes. Carmilla can’t hold it any longer, her hand snaps out from under Liam’s jacket snatching at the phone.

“Hey” said Carmilla, her voice weak.

“Where are you?” Laura snaps. She was mad.

“I’m uh…” Carmilla takes a look at her surroundings, she was sitting down leaning against a tree, blood and dirt smeared all over her skin “I-I’m lost.”

“Lost?” She retorts in disbelief.

“Yeah” Carmilla mumbles, “S-something happened last night I-“ a single tear runs down her cheek, the memories too fresh. Laura can hear her sniffle on the other line, her breaths starting to quicken.

“Are you okay Carm?” she asks concerned. There’s a long pause before Carmilla builds up the strength to answer her.

“No”

“Where are you?” she repeats, this time softly.

“I-I’m in the forest uh by the corner of Johnson and Main street, I can see the sighs from here” her voice is weak and sluggish, each word taking more effort than it should.

“I’m coming” Laura says definitively, already reaching for her coat.

“Wait, wait” Carmilla quickly interrupts.

“What?” She replies worried.

“Can you bring a change of clothes? Just some sweats and t-shirt or something”

“Why?” Laura asks confused.

“I’ll tell you later, please.” With the sound of desperation on the other line, Laura can’t help but agree, opening the drawers and picking out the comfiest outfit she can find.

***

“Carm?” Laura shouts, glancing between the signs of the streets and her phone. She hears a slight ruffle in leaves and try’s to peak through the trees, she slowly starts walking forward and begins to see the figure of a woman sitting down and leaning on a tree.

“Carm what the hell” she breathes out anxiously, jogging over to her fiancée with red stains on her skin.

“Laura” said Carmilla relieved; greatly surprised when the brunette jumps down at her hugging her so tight her breath catches.

“Jesus what happened?!” she asks shocked. Weirdly the question stumps Carmilla, her mouth left to hang agape.

“I-I don’t k-know,” she stammers, pissing off Laura. Is she honestly not going to give her an answer after leaving her to almost throw up from anxiety? To finally answer after _hours_ of calling and crying through the night of a million menacing possibilities trying to drill into her head? But as Laura sees the sheer pain and fear in her eyes her frustration slips through her hands like sand… the last time she saw her like this was when she opened up about her mum. The shivering woman notices Laura’s eyes soften, she was honestly expecting yelling and shouting and everything she deserves but much to her surprise, she just looks at her with love.

“Let’s get you home” she says softly, pulling out her bag and revealing a warm pile of clothes.

“Thank you” Carmilla whispers back, her hands shaking. But as she grabs the clothes, Laura looks at her with confusion.

“Where’s your ring?” Carmilla doesn’t say a word; the brunette just left staring at her dumbfounded. What the hell is going on?

“Can we just go, I need to talk to you” she finally speaks up, pulling the sweatpants on.

“Damn right” Laura quietly mutters.

***

The drive back was pure silence. The air was thick, on constant edge waiting for another sound to fill the atmosphere, but none came. But it wasn’t because there weren’t any words, there were thousands of words, hundreds of conversations and arguments had been thrown and destroyed… except it was in their own minds. The biggest one came down to a simple decision, the truth or a lie? Carmilla knew she had the choice and her dad would go with her either way which unfortunately left her to dig herself out of her own grave. Staring out the window, she left the music flood her body, nodding along to beat and going through every option in her head. There was no way this was end well. Laura caved first, letting out a deep sigh before opening the cage door to her mouth.

“What happened Carm” said Laura, her voice sterner than usual. She had to decide now.

“It was nothing…” Carmilla said quietly praying to the heavens that maybe God would give her this one thing, although she’d already pissed him off so much he probably planned this out. She just had to be Christian.

“Don’t bullshit me,” Laura snapped, grabbing the other girl’s full attention. “You don’t answer all night, I don’t see you all night and then I find you in a forest, naked might I add, covered in blood” the irritation growing louder in her voice as she went on, “just tell me Carm, I love you, you know that right?”

They reached a red light and Laura took the opportunity to look at Carmilla once more, she was glad when she found Carmilla was already staring at her.

“I know you love me, and I’m sorry” she said softly, “It’s just something really… bad happened last night”

“What was it?” Laura asked urgently, her anxiety starting to infect her skin.

“I…” Carmilla gave one last look at Laura, she stared into her beautiful eyes, the colours pulling her into a trance like they always do. She can’t lose her, that’d be a fate worse than death especially with the wedding only a month away. She can’t tell her the truth. She can’t.

“I was attacked last night by a gang-“

“Excuse me?” Laura scoffed.

“I’m being serious Laura.” Laura’s mouth reluctantly closed, letting Carmilla continue.

“I was attacked and mugged, t-they took my ring and clothes and starting beating me up” As the words tumbled from her mouth her emotions began to betray her, tears threatening to spill over. “I fought back and… I killed one of them.”

Laura’s eyes widen so much they practically count as a new planet.

“In self defense” she quickly adds, hesitantly reaching out her hand on her fiancées leg. When her leg doesn’t twitch, she allows her self to relax slightly.

“You… killed someone?”

“I didn’t mean too, he was trying to kill me it was instinct.”

Once again the silence came back but this time the two women kept a constant gaze. Laura was shocked of what she just heard; Carmilla was praying she would believe what she just heard. After a few minutes that seemed like hours, the brunette restarted the car and continued on home.

 

The second they got back to their apartment Carmilla headed straight for shower, wanting to get rid of any reminder of last night. Her memory was enough. Laura slowly walked into the apartment, dumping her bag on the bench and collapsing on the couch. It took her a second for her mind to catch up to what was happening, to what _had_ happened, to what she was even going to do. Murder? Actual full on ‘once alive scum bag who won’t wake up’ murder and the woman who she was going to spend the rest of her life with was the one who did it. But there’s the argument of self-defense, she was just defending herself, she didn’t intentionally go out and kill someone. No. It’s not her fault. It was just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, yes, that’s it. Completely and utterly that, is, it. Then why does she feel like it’s not true?

 

“Hey cupcake” Carmilla coo’s strolling over to her.

“Hey” she replies, her voice uneasy. Carmilla sighs.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call okay? I just panicked, everything happened so fast…”

“What about the body?” Laura abruptly interrupts, throwing the other woman completely off.

“The what?”

“The body.” She repeats. “Where is it?”

“I took care of it” the words dripped with tension, “everything is fine now, I sear”

“And this ‘gang’ are you going to go the police?” Laura questions.

“Please what will they do, I have this handled” Carmilla scoffs, but when she sees Laura still has the same worried expression, she gives in.

“Everything is going to be fine cream puff, this doesn’t change anything okay? I just had a really bad night but I’m with you now” she gently tips Laura’s chin up. “I love you okay? Nothing will change that; you don’t to worry about that. But what you can worry about, is that I was alone for an entire night” Carmilla’s voice morphs from sincerity to something else, and Laura can’t help but smirk.

“I was Laura-less for an entire night” she whines, a wide grin on both of their faces.

“You poor thing” Laura smiles before leaning in and capturing her lips in an intense kiss. Her hand climbs it’s way up to Carmilla’s neck, pulling forward to deepen the kiss.

“I missed you” Laura mumbles between breaths.

“Me too” Carmilla replies, leaning out of the kiss, she can’t help but laugh when she sees the annoyed look on Laura’s face. But soon her mood completely swings, as Carmilla bends down and lifts up Laura, holding her in in her own arms with her fiancées face mere breathes away. Laura giggles happily as she feels herself being lifted up and taking down the hall, giving her a perfect view of the woman in front of her.”

“You’re so strong” She smirks; giving her lips a lingering kiss. Carmilla falters slightly, tripping over her own feet as she stumbles down the hall, kicking open the door they fall onto the bed laughing, forgetting the world around them. Carmilla almost forgets she wasn’t even human less than 7 hours ago as she feels a hand slide up her back. Almost.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Liam took a deep nervous breath before knocking on the glass door.

“Come in” a man’s voice answers from behind the door. Pushing the last of his regrets to the back of his mind, he walks through.

The office is still the same since the last time he was here, albeit it was more than thirty years ago but the room still was neatly arranged to the exact same places. It was mostly wooden, with a large oak desk sitting at the front with a bearded man sitting behind it, the second his eyes saw the man in front of him they lit up excitedly.

“Well I be damned!” said the man, slapping the desk. “My boy is still alive!”

“Nice to see you too Malcom” Liam grinned, waiting for his friend to rush around the desk and bang into him with a tight hug.

“Wow… I thought you were dead!” Malcom laughs, patting Liam on the back before walking over to his desk once more.

“Nope I’m uh still here” There’s a hint of hurt in his voice and it doesn’t go unnoticed. Malcom gives him an apologetic look, offering a supportive smile.

“Yeah I heard about Sarah,” He says sadly. They both stare at the ground for a while, the rush from seeing his closest of friends drifting away. It was Liam who spoke first.

“I’m actually here for a favour Malcom,” said Liam sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. Malcom only grins back.

“Yeah I figured, you always came to me when you needed something brother” Liam laughs in response, reliving some of the perfect memories that play in his mind of the times he used to live.

“I’m still sorry, we’re family I should’ve seen you sooner” Liam says with guilt in his voice.

“No, no” he waves off. “You were on the run it was the safest thing to do” he nods, pulling out a drawer from his desk and picking out a thick cigar.

“Uh anyway, I need you to cover up a body for me…”

“What?” Malcom coughs; grey smoke spluttering out, eyes wide.

“It wasn’t me” he quickly confirms, “It was my daughter, she was kidnapped and she turned for the firs time” Liam clarifies, worried his brother may back out.

“Hold on, the first time?” He says confused. Liam stares at the marble floor and kicks at his feet, not having the strength to say it out loud, soon Malcom notices the body language and lets out an uneasy cackle.

“Did you knock your head while you were out there Mark? Jesus, she’s not even a damn _leopard_ , she may even be the first of her kind!” said Malcom in disbelief, his voice starting to rise. “Honestly out of all the most idiotic things you’ve done, this tops it” he scoffs, shaking his head while taking a deep puff of the cigar.

“I know it sounds like the wrong decision but it was for her safety, it’s kept her alive for nearly thirty bloody years!”

“And now she’s killed someone!” Malcom snaps, his eyes stone cold. “Do you have any bloody idea what you’ve done? This could fucking out her Mark, just because you ran doesn’t mean you can’t obey the laws on humans”

“She killed a wolf,” He corrects, tension filling the room.

“A wolf? She killed a wolf?” He hops out of his leather chair, pacing up and down the wooden floorboards.

“Listen, he attacked her it’s fine, I just need the body cleared and the area cleaned” Liam reasons, hoping to calm down the situation. Malcom stops in his tracks turning to look his brother dead in the eye.

“This could disrupt peace” his voice was laced with fear.

“It won’t” Liam promises, keeping his gaze locked as Malcom paces his towards him.

“If word gets out we could have another war Mark,” he warns.

“He was a low-life no one would care” Liam retorts.

“That’s not who I’m talking about.” Liam freezes as his chest starts to constrict, the air around him growing thicker and thicker, barely making it through his throat.

“She wouldn’t” He croak’s, hardily even recognizing his own voice.

“She just found out she can rip people’s throats out and you honestly think this is the last body we’ll have our hands on?” He takes a few steps closer, his intense stare never faltering.

“She’s not a killer.” Liam bites, clenching his fists.

“It’s in her blood” Malcom mutters coldly before swiftly turning on his feet and plopping down back in his black leather chair.

“I’ll clean the area and take care of the body but that’s it, I’m not getting involved any further,” He states clearly, his eye’s softening.

“She’s you’re niece Malcom.” Liam responds softly, giving one last nod and striding out the door. The tall large man is left alone his office, staring at where his long lost brother used to be.

“May God save our souls” He mumbles to himself.

 

***

 

It had been a few weeks since the incident. Laura was at work, proudly reporting on the stories around the world, Carmilla was so happy that she finally got her dream job. She was so happy for Laura, but none for herself. She could feel the animal inside her growing, those primal urges itching to be released and unlocked for the world to see… and it was getting tougher to control. She refused to talk to her father even if he had been calling every day for the past two weeks, determined to finally break through but being furious at her dad and holding those emotions, she could do.

It was a Saturday morning and despite Carmilla’s constant cynical mindset, the view was beautiful. Except it was more than that, in the mornings she used to see the sun, the great ball of fire in the sky bringing life to the world around it but now, she sees and feels so much more. Stepping out onto the balcony Carmilla gives in, letting the animal inside her absorb every ounce of joy it can grab. She can hear the slight falter the the wind, as the morning flocks of birds gracefully travel through the sky, the smell of the rain from two nights ago still slightly lingering in the crisp air, the sound of the nearby trees swaying in the breeze. It’s intoxicating, a little too intoxicating because it was then she could feel the animal inside her want more; _she_ wanted more.

“Shit” the woman groaned as a sharp pain shot through her stomach. Her mind started to panic. What if Laura came home? There was no way she could explain why there was a fucking panther in the living room or even worse… what if she hurt Laura? A strange twinge of anger sparked through her body; well at least it seemed like the panther liked Laura.

“Fuck!” She groaned again, falling to the floor. She had to move, _now_. Snatching her keys off the bench she sprinted out the door, ever since her first ‘change’ her speed and strength had sky rocketed as well as her appetite and agility (which was seriously crazy). She was fighting with her all strength, pushing the beast inside her down as much as she could but the more she did the more rage she felt, the more primal she felt. Ditching the car she dashed for the forest, knocking into anyone who was in her way that meant a lot of suspicious looks were thrown at her, but she didn’t care. She was more worried about the fact that a part of her felt hunger when her eyes lingered on a human for too long. No, a _person_ not a human, they are people.

“Get your shit together Carm jesus” she mutters to herself, her vision starting to distort. The scent of woodlands flooded her senses and wave of relief flushed her body, she was going to make it but as if on queue, she collapsed to the floor. It was too late, she could her bones started to crack and morph, rapidly scanning the area around her, she spotted an alleyway. Within the second she dragged herself off the pavement, and lunging into the alleyway but as she landed a teenager with a graffiti can in his hand stared at her with wide eyes.

“I didn’t do it I swear” He panics, dropping the can from his grip.

“Just get out!” She growls, making the kid stumble backwards slightly.

“A-Are you alright miss?” He asks cautiously. She was clutching at her stomach tightly, begging for the animal within her to subdue but it laughed in her face, clawing it’s way through her breaking body. She screamed in pain knowing she couldn’t hold it off any longer.

“Just fucking run kid” she spits out aggressively, the teenager doesn’t move instead reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone.

“I’m calling an ambulance” He assures, typing in the number.

“No!” She roars, her voice becoming a deeper and rougher. “Get out now or I’ll kill you” she threatens, her eyes piercing into the teenager’s. He stands still dumbfounded, his finger hovering over the call button.

“Get out or I’ll snap your neck!” she bellows, hot tears trickling down her face. The loud scream scares the teen, he finally does as he’s told and snatches his bag sprinting off. Carmilla let’s out a breath of relief before her spine cracks up, her harms snapping and twisting into paws while her teeth lengthen and thicken into large fangs. She let’s out one last scream before the change completely strangles her, leaving what once used to be a woman, a large black panther. Carmilla lifts herself up from the ground, slowly turning around and smelling the air. Her stomach growls in anticipation, the large black cat gracefully strolling out of the alleyway and into the street but before she makes it out, another scent catches her attention and she spins her head around. Behind her is an immensely large wolf, it’s fur a proud jet black, it’s intense blue eyes glowing from the centre, standing out so beautifully well.

The wolf bows it’s head and the instincts within Carmilla make her relax, the sign of the respect going both ways, as the panther nods it’s head back. The wolf let’s out a happy yip before spinning around and jumping up on the garbage bin at the end of the wall, looking back at her expectantly. Carmilla growls warningly before following the wolf as it jumps from the bin, to the window and then over the back wall, except the panther easily jumps from the bin to the top of the wall, pulling herself over. The wolf is waiting at the other side, sitting down calmly showing no signs of aggression or hostility but as Carmilla lands and spots the wolf on the other side she notices its ear twitch. Carmilla continues to follow the wolf, which takes her through all the back alleys; away from any people, and any time the panther starts to walk astray, the hunger in her stomach controllering her, the wolf barks sternly, leading her on.

 

Eventually the wolf leads Carmilla to the forest and the moment it comes into view a rush of adrenaline flushes her powerful body and she sprints into the trees, the wolf following behind. It seems the wolf means no harm, but Carmilla doesn’t give in completely, growling every now and again so it knows that if decides to attack she won’t hesitate to rip out it’s throat. But even with the constant snarling, the wolf stays and what she thinks, shows her around the woods. Carmilla couldn’t fully consciously think about what was going on, her only focus being the urge to hunt in her bones but she could feel herself a lot stronger than she did before, she feels more of her conscious self than she did before. 

 A quiet bark grabs her attention and she let’s her body sink, slowly creeping up next to the wolf. The wolf lightly barks, pointing it’s head forward, Carmilla pokes her head up slightly, her eye’s immediately locking on the pack of the deer that were carelessly drinking lake in front of them. She feels a strange rush go through her and she instantly rises up from above the ground getting ready to choose it’s next meal but a quiet growl causes her to sit back down. The wolf growls at her then lifts it’s head once more but pointing more to the right, Carmilla reluctantly does as told, and scans that area, noticing a human with a large rifle sitting on a rock, polishing his gun. The panther snarls and starts to move the other way this time but the wolf barks again, when the panther keeps walking, it nips at her side. Carmilla whips her head around baring her teeth while leaning downward; the wolf instantly starts to slowly retreat, lowering its head. Carmilla stares it down thinking of the taste of the raw meat against her tongue when the wolf starts to thrash its head. It starts shaking and whining, Carmilla instinctively backs up, watching in awe as the wolf transforms into a human man.

“Carmilla” Liam groans, stretching his back. She instantly growls, her hairs standing on end.

“Carmilla” Liam sighs, “We have to talk, please, it’s important,” He asks pleadingly, crouching down on the cold dirt floor. The animal in front of him snarls once more before sprinting off into the forest, Liam takes a deep breathe and covers his face in his hands. I part of him knows there could have been a dead body today, the wolf idea nearly worked. He’s going to have to try another route.

“If I can’t do it directly then I’m going to need to ask someone else.” He mutters.

 


	4. Raining Cats and Dogs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has given this a read, I appreciate it soo much! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter in which a new character comes into play ;)

The large black cat was strolling through the woods, the fresh blood still dripping from her mouth. Her hunger was finally sated, after spending hours sprinting through the forest and catching wild animals, the beast within her was subduing to her normal self. She made her way to the creek, as her human self had left a spare change of clothes in case she ever turned unexpectedly, she was damn glad she made that decision. Walking up to the water she slowly lowered herself into the cold stream, closing her eyes in pleasure as the fresh water washed through her fur, the blood and dirt dripping away; once she was done, she let the turn take her again.

 

Her normal vision returned in a haze, the pain wasn’t as intense this time as her fur on her back shrank to small hairs that usually stay. Carmilla takes in a deep breath, relishing in the water for a few seconds before pacing out of the stream and towards a tree. Reaching her hand inside the hole she pulls out a black bag, using the towel inside to dry herself off and the clothes to change.

“Hey lady” A woman’s voice shouts, grabbing Carmilla’s attention.

“Excuse me?” She responds annoyed, staring at the short red head behind her who was leaning against a tree.

“No need to get snarky, I didn’t know you’re name” They respond, raising their hands.

“Who are you?” She snaps, sliding on her shirt.

“Names Lafontaine but you can call me Laf” They grin, walking over and extending their hand. Carmilla looks her up and down; their posture is relaxed, seeming to be no sign of hostility.

“Carmilla…” she replies cautiously, shaking their hand. Lafontaine glances at the bag in front of the woman.

“You keep that here for when you run?” they question, pointing at the bag.

“Run?” Carmilla replies dumbly.

“Yeah ‘run’, don’t act stupid I saw you before”

“Saw me when?” her eyes widen. Did they see her when she changed?

“When you were hunting before, I was too but you scared off my meal” They explain, “I was actually going to have a little ‘word’ with you but then I saw you weren’t one of those bastard wolves.” The way they say wolves almost sounds as if it was a swear word, like acid on their tongue.

“You’re… You’re one too?” Carmilla stammers, hope beating in her chest.

“Yeah of course? Otherwise I wouldn’t be here right now” Carmilla slowly nods her head, trying to take in the fact that she wasn’t actually alone. Realizing how stupid she must look, she straightens up her back, bringing back her confident demeanor.

“So, I’m kind of new to this whole ‘werewolf’ thing, I only found out a few weeks ago” Lafontaine looks at her baffled.

“What? How? You weren’t brought up in a leap?”

“No,” she replies, “I was brought up like any normal kid, minus this crazy bullshit.”

“It’s not bullshit” they say defensively, “It’s who you are.”

“Who I am got my mother killed” she bites, stepping forwards. Lafontaine backs up slightly. “I had to be on the run because of who I am, I’ve lost all my friends because of who I am; I don’t fucking care what I am, I’m not letting it control me” Carmilla spits, rage churning in her stomach.

“I’m so sorry… about your mother” They look at her apologetically, attempting to step closer to the girl.

“Don’t apologize, just piss off” She snarls, angrily snatching her backpack and storming off.

 

**

Laura was happily enjoying her lunch, munching her sandwich while listening cheerfully to her tunes. She was so engulfed in her own world she jumped when a large man took a seat in front of her.

“Laura” the man pants, sweat running down his forehead.

“Liam?” she asks bewildered. He hardily ever talks to her and when he does he never does it without Carmilla by her side.

“Hey” he smiles weakly, pouring himself a glass of water and chugging it down.

“A-Are you alright?” She questions, pulling out her earphones.

“I’m okay it’s uh about Carmilla” Laura stiffens.

“What about her?” She replies, trying to be as smooth as possible.

“I need to talk to her, urgently,” He says seriously, staring into her hazel eyes.

“What about?” her voice trembles slightly, forcing Liam to have to hide the fear bubbling up inside him.

“What did she tell you?” He inquires, leaning forward across the table.

“About what?” Laura struggles to keep a straight face. Normally she’s very good at keeping her cool, especially when doing interviews with some of most ignorant people she’s ever had the misfortune to meet but whenever she has to talk to Carmilla’s father; he always has a way to break her down.

“What did she tell you?” He repeats stiffly, trying to contain his anger. Laura takes a deep breath.

“I-Is this about when she was attacked?” She stammers nervously.

“Yes, yes about the attack” he immediately responds, somehow leaning forward even more, “What did she tell you?”

“That she was attacked and mugged by a gang,” Laura explains, giving up on trying to keep her cool.

“That’s all?” He quirks an eyebrow, Laura awkwardly shuffles in her seat.

“Sh-she also uh” she looks around anxiously, as if someone were listening to their conversation. “She _killed_ someone” she finally whispers.

“How?”

“I don’t know, she just said it was self defense” Laura shrugs, taking in a large bite of her chicken sandwich. Liam lets a breath of relief, slumping to back of his seat.

“Oh thank god” He sighs, relaxing his shoulders.

“Excuse me?” Laura snorts.

“I-I mean thank god that it was self defense and you know, not uh murder” he stutters, his words tumbling out aimlessly. She uneasily nods in response, reaching back into her pocket for her earphones.

“Could I um just ask you for a favour?” He asks pleadingly, causing Laura to cough her out a piece of sandwich, sending her into a fit.

“A favour?” she chokes, hitting her chest.

“Yeah...” he responds sheepishly.

“Of course, I would love to help out sir” Her mind was racing.

“Awesome” he grins, “would you mind setting up a surprise dinner tonight? For the three of us?”

“Yeah yeah that would be fantastic, absolutely a-o-kay, I would _love_ it!” Laura said excitedly, unable to control her squeals.

“Wonderful, I’ll see you tonight” he smiles, carefully getting out of his seat and walking out the café. Laura doesn’t move for the first couple of minutes, still in shock of what had actually happened. Did Liam just invite himself over for dinner, _voluntarily_ _?_ With no pestering at all from Carmilla, and to make it stranger, even as a _surprise_ for Carmilla?

“Tonight should be fun” she chuckles to herself, going back to her food.

 

**

 

Laura was slicing a tomato when she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her stomach, she immediately grinned.

“Hello” Carmilla hummed into her ear, starting to trail kisses down her neck.

“Carm…” Laura jokingly warned.

“Yes?” She mumbled, continuing to nibble on her ear.

“I’m busy” she chuckled, fighting with all her will power not spin around and give in.

“Hmm I’m going to make absolute sure of that” Carmilla ignores. Finally Laura builds up the strength to gently pull Carmilla’s arms off her, the moment she does she can hear a disgruntled whine from behind her.

“I’ve got to cook babe and as much as I’d like to spend time with you, I’m on a time limit” her fiancée pouts in response making Laura giggle.

“You are ridiculous” said Laura, playfully swatting at Carmilla’s shoulder.

“But that’s what you love about me” She smirks back. Laura just rolls her eyes and points to a lonely onion sitting on the bench.

“Oh come on,” Carmilla grumbles. Laura just raises her eyebrows, she knows Carmilla can never say no and laughs once more when she grumpily pulls a knife out of the drawer, and starts chopping the onion.

“So unfair” she mumbles under her breath.

“You poor thing” she sarcastically responds.

 

Carmilla and Laura cook together for the rest of the hour although they could’ve probably finished in half that time but they took regular breaks, enjoying a host of other activities. It was a knock at the door that forced Carmilla to leave Laura’s side, whom kept on with the cooking. Carmilla opened the door with a wide grin on her face still on a high from being with the love of her life, except the person at the door caused her expression to drop in a heartbeat.

“Hey sister!” Lafontaine smiled.

“What are you doing here?” She snapped.

“What do you mean? I’m here for you, we need to talk.” They say sternly before sniffing air, making their eyes widen. Carmilla instantly catches on and shakes her head vigorously.

“No, you are not coming in, no-“ Lafontaine had already walked through the door, pushing through Carmilla.

“Hey!” They cheerfully said, walking up to Laura.

“Hey?” The brunette responds, offering the same cheerfulness, “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“Oh no, I’m a friend of Carmilla’s”

“Not a friend” She interjects bitterly. Laura gives her a confused expression while Lafontaine looks at her with a cheeky grin.

“Don’t mind her, you know her and I are practically sisters” Laura can’t help but scoff at the statement, holding her tongue when she notices the annoyed look from Carmilla.

“Really?” Laura smiles, trying to hold back her giggles.

“Yeah we have _so_ much in common” They winked, chuckling when Carmilla glared at her.

“Alright” Carmilla snaps, instantly softening her voice when Laura jumps back slightly, “That’s enough of that, you know Lafontaine here really has to go” Carmilla starts shuffling them out, but Lafontaine resists and with her surprising amount of strength, manages to push her off of them.

“I can walk myself out thanks” They mutter out sassily, adjusting their jacket.

“Wait, hold on” Laura calls out, “Would you like to stay for dinner?” Carmilla almost has a stroke at the words, staring at Laura while mouthing ‘no’ over and over again; she ignores her.

“You know” They spin back around, making sure to bump past Carmilla’s shoulder, “I would love too.”

“Awesome! The lasagna’s in the oven, it should be ready in about fifteen minutes. "Think you can entertain yourself till then?” Laura asks.

“I definitely can” they smile back.

 

**

 

“So if you only found a couple weeks ago, were you bitten?” Lafontaine asks curiously. They were both sitting on the couch; Carmilla thinking of if it would really be that horrible to spend her life in jail, ‘is murder really that bad?’

“No, apparently I was born like this” she answers sourly.

“But they never told you?” they question again.

“No” She huffs, staring to the painting on the wall in front of her.

“That’s so weird normally that’s the first thing your taught, that and of course you know, never tell anyone” This sparks Carmilla’s own curiosity and she actually bothers to look at the person beside her.

“Why can’t we tell anyone?” Lafontaine has to hold back their laugh.

“Because it’s the law”

“There’s laws?” she asks puzzled.

“Well, there’s really just that one law as well as you can’t attack or kill humans unless they find out about us” they explain, their hands accenting each word. “But within packs they could have more laws, really just depends on who your family is” They trail off, falling into their own rant about how much of a disgrace wolves are and how they think they would be better suited as house pets. Carmilla drowns out the sounds, being pulled into her own mind, which is a thousand times worse than anything that someone could say. She just couldn’t get over the thought of what would’ve happened if she had told Laura, would she have had to kill her? The thought alone makes her want to throw up, sending shivers straight down to her soul. Would this be something that she could never tell her? A lie with a lock no key could ever fit?

“Hey, broody one? You there?” They wave their hands in front of her face.

“Sorry, yeah” she snaps herself out of her daze.

“The door rang, you should probably get it” They say, pointing to the door

“What?”

“The door, open the door” They lightly push her off the couch, Carmilla growls back at her. She strolls up to door, opening it completely before slamming it back closed.

“Uhh” Lafontaine looks to Laura.

“Carm? Who was there?” Laura questions, pulling the Lasagna out of the oven.

“My dad” said Carmilla angrily, swiftly turning on her feat and over to Laura. “You need any help with the setting up cupcake?”

“Carm.” Laura replies sternly. Carmilla groans, sluggishly bringing herself over to the door and swinging open.

“I don’t why you’re here but you are so get inside and don’t talk to me” she asserts.

“Carmilla I _need_ to talk to you… you know about the whole ‘werewolf’ thing’” He whispers annoyed.

“I don’t care, I got somebody else for that! You’re only here for presentations.” She mutters back. The two stare at each not saying a word, as if everything around had froze. Laura quickly intervenes, hoping there wasn’t going to be any bloodshed. When Carmilla’s mad, she gets _mad_ , that’s something that you never want to mess with. Laura’s just glad that she seems to be immune from Carmilla’s rage.

“Uh guys dinners ready” she squeaks, pulling Carmilla away from the door. The touch alone strips away her anger and she can’t help but be reminded of much she loves her. It was then and only then that Carmilla realized Lafontaine was still here.

“Oh dad this is Lafontaine, Laf, this is my father Liam” She introduces the two but the two don’t speak. Lafontaine is glaring at him, their hairs on end while Liam seems to be taken back, in shock that there was another alerus in her daughters apartment. Carmilla picked up on the tension, grabbing Lafontaine by the arm and towards the dinner table. Liam cautiously followed after.

 

The beginning of the dinner went surprisingly smoothly, mostly because nearly no one was talking. Laura thought Lafontaine and Liam had some unspoken bad blood and tried her best to stay from the topic, although she found that extremely difficult considering she had no idea what it was. Carmilla hated the tension and focused more on the delicious food, demolishing the food in front of her.

“Ease up Carm you weren’t raised by wolves” Laura joked. Carmila froze with half a forkful in her mouth, Liam choked on his wine while Lafontaine just smirked widely.

“Yeah Carmilla, I figured you more of a cat person” They added grinning. Carmilla was trying with all her might not to jump over the table and snap their neck off right there and then.

“No, no, I think she’s more of dog person” Liam coughed, wiping his mouth.

“No I don’t think so, Carm loves cats so much she practically _is_ one” They reply, staring Liam dead in the eye. “I don’t think she ever was a dog person” they spit coldly.

“Sure you’re not talking about yourself?” said Liam, not backing down.

“Well speaking from experience, things never end well with mutts.”

“Okay!” Laura claps, forcing everyone to direct her attention to her, “who’s up for desert?”

“I’m going to go to bathroom real quick” said Carmilla softly, leaning forward and giving a quick peck on Laura’s lips right as she got up. The table sat there awkwardly, Laura desperately wanting to save the evening.

“So Laf, uh I’m guessing you’re a cat person?” said Laura curiously.

“Oh you’ve no idea” they smirked.

 

The second the door slammed shut she let herself fall to the cold floor, her back against the door.

“The hell have I gotten myself into to?” she groans, staring up at the artificial light above her; ‘Nothing good’ her mind mutters back.

 

Carmilla soon joined the table once more, her head spinning with anger.

“Okay so I think that will be it for this evening,” she states. Laura stares at her eyes wide.

“Carm…”

“No I think she’s right” Lafontaine interrupts. “I’ve spent enough time here already, I wouldn’t want to be a bother”.

“Yes um I best be off” Liam smirks, standing up out of his chair and giving Laura hug. He tries to offer his daughter one but she seems to be glued to her seat, refusing to even lay eyes on him. “I’ll see you soon honey” he smiles.

“I’ll make sure not too” She mutters back, finally getting out of her chair and shuffling the guests out of the room. Laura isn’t that surprised at her fiancées rudeness especially when they are around others, but there seems to be something else there, as if she was trying to get the people out for another reason. But what that reason may be, she has no idea.

“Uh bye Lafontaine” said Laura, awkwardly waving to them as Carmilla was forcefully shoving Liam out the door. Soon Lafontaine made it to the door, giving a Carmilla snarky smile before she felt a tight grip on her arm.

“Mind if I talk with you Laf?” said Carmilla, her voice on edge. They uncomfortably nod their head back. She instantly shoves the person forward, slamming the door and gripping Lafontaine’s shirt, smacking them against the wall.

“What the hell sis?” They snap. Carmilla growls, lifting them slightly forward and slamming them back into the wall.

“How did you find me?” She grunts.

“I followed your scent after you left, I needed to talk to you” they defend, trying to escape their holders grip but failing miserably.

“You never come near here again is that clear?” she asserts, raising an eyebrow.

“You don’t understand, we need to stick together-“

“You will never come near _here_ again is that clear?” Carmilla repeats, her iron grip tightening.

“Fine, fine just let me go, I’m losing oxygen here” They choke, breathing a deep sigh of relief when their feet fall to the floor, but the bliss doesn’t last long as what feels like a brick tower slams them against the wall, Carmilla’s arm right below their neck.

“You can talk and stalk and do whatever you want with me but you will never, _ever_ go near Laura again.”

“Laura? That little cutie pie in there?” they question, pointing to the door with their thumb.

“Yes Laura!” she aggressively grunts, “You will never talk to her or go near her, understand?”

“Jesus okay” Lafontaine gives in, feeling the weight being lifted off her. Carmilla glares at her once more before swiftly turning on her feet and slamming the door in their face.

 

\---

 

Lafontaine was trudging on their way back home. So their plan hadn’t gone _perfectly_ well but it went well enough, as that now they had another friend, another one of their kind that they can go too. They had been a leopard their entire life, growing up in the times before the war when they actually had their own territories. They can still vaguely remember those pristine times, when there was no fear or shame and everyone was free to live their lives; but all it took was one asshole to fuck it up for the rest of them. Lafontaine can clearly see the flashback in her mind, in a golden haze of what they used to have. They remember the moment it all fell apart, when their mother woke them up in the middle of the night, the full moon glistening through the trees.

“Honey we have to go” their mother said, her voice full of panic. They didn’t know what she meant at first but quickly caught on when they heard the sounds outside, bashing at their ears. They used to live in a village, and they can clearly see that exact moment when their eyes drifted to the window outside and saw the flames on the houses, threatening to kill everyone they held close. But oddly the person that they miss most wasn’t in that village, but a human who went to school with them. Of course they were extremely young, but those beautiful orange curls that flopped down on her best friend’s head they just could never forget. Lafontaine sighs at the memory, continuing down on their path as they make their way down to their makeshift home but a shutter in her sight stops her movement.

 

They still, focusing on their heightened senses, noticing the soft crunch in the leaves and a disturbed scent in the air. Whoever was following them caught on, as they saw a sudden blur of movement which led to their body being slammed up against a tree; a knife to their throat.

“Not again” Lafontaine groans, holding her tongue when the man in front of them threatens the knife closer to their neck.

“Mind if we have a little chat?” He snickers, edging closer.

“Well I could hardly say no to such a gentlemen” they grin, clearly pissing off her assaulter who’s eyes narrow.

“Shut up mongrel,” he sneers. “Tell me where the panther is!”

“Panther?” their eye’s squint in surprise.

“I know you know where it is!” he growls, pushing harder on their chest.

“Sorry buddy but I haven’t the faintest clue.” They reply, trying to wriggle themselves out of his grip. He seems to be new, not noticing as they push him forward with their hands on his stomach, giving them a brief moment of time where they can shuffle sideways before the weight pushes back down.

“Not escaping that easily” he smirks. They try their absolute best to hide their laughter.

“Well since it look’s like I’m not being let go anytime soon” they sigh, “why not tell me your name?”

“My name?” he stammers, slightly taken back by the request. Lafontaine beams back.

“Yeah tough guy, give me the 411 on who my capturer is.” The words seem to please him because he relaxes his grip, smiling smugly to himself.

“The name’s Theo” he answered proudly, sticking out his chest. Lafontaine nods in response with a smile, slowly letting her hands fall down while he’s distracted, channeling all her strength into them.

“Pretty badass name” they say calmly while keeping steady eye contact, getting ready to pounce. But before they could teach this mutt a lesson, a man smashes into Theo, sending them to a ground in a heap. Lafontaine stares wide eyed at the spectacle, stuck to the tree as they watched in bewilderment as their best friend pulls Theo up, muttering something to him before knocking him straight out with one (what looks to be) extremely painful punch. He takes a few breaths before directing his attention to the person behind him.

 

“JP?” They ask, finally being free from the invisible rope from the tree.

“Hey Laf” He beams back, picking up Theo’s arms and dragging him into the bushes, Lafontaine follows him through the forest.

“When did you learn to do that?” they scoff in disbelief, strangely proud of what JP had done.

“Just what you taught me” he grins back, dropping the limp body to the floor, “we need to cover our scent, these dogs are annoyingly good at that.”

“Yeah try having one that has a crush on you, now _that_ is a pain” they laugh back, leading JP back onto the path and returning on the route to their home.

“Now I don’t want to sound ungrateful but I remember saying for you to stay _in_ the house” said Lafontaine sternly.

“I know, I know, it’s just I was out walking-“ their eyes widen at the statement but JP instantly backtracks. “Walking near the house, like you said I could and doing all the things that I can safely do but then I saw something in the bushes and,” he shrugs his shoulders, “I ended up with you.” They give in with a dramatic sigh, throwing their arm around him and happily striding back to the house. They enjoy each other’s company for a while, mostly relishing in the comfort from the world around them, the nature around them. JP had been like a brother to Lafontaine, mostly because on the night of the attack JP’s mother died, and since his mother was a close friend to Lafontaine’s mother, she took him with them. They became inseparable and like a real family, the love that had grown being stronger then the hardships that tested them… that being many when your life involved pretending to be someone you’re not. Eventually they neared the cabin, it was small and barely could house the two but it was it’s cozy charms that drew them too it. Before they stepped through the door, swiping their shoes on the ‘welcome home’ mat, JP grabbed their shoulder.

“Hey are we going to have to move soon?” He asked, his voice etched with fear of what the answer would be.

“No? Why would we?” They answer baffled.

“They found a body the other night… I thought maybe you acted up...”

“I didn’t” They hastily interrupt. “I’ve been fine. For months now”

“I know, I know, I just thought that maybe you did and we’d have to leave” he explains, his shoulders relaxing.

“Well I didn’t so we’re not moving anytime soon” They chuckle, moving to step through the walkway but freezing midway. “Hold on… who was the body?”

JP shrugs in response, “don’t know it was found half eaten.”

 

 

****


	5. Fear

Carmilla had only experienced true fear a few times in her life. Only a few times did her entire world crash at her feet leaving nothing but debris in her sight. The first time she was so young it was too much, even if it only infected her veins for a second it was enough to darken her blood, changing who she was, what her life would be. The second she realized she would never see her mother again, when her mind started to piece together the reality of what had happened, it broke her more than someone else ever could. She was afraid to love after that, she was afraid to let anyone close to her own hell and found that it was safer to let them bang at her outside walls instead of sitting by her side. Because they didn’t care about her, so she didn’t have to care about them. It was a foolproof system. No one wanted to be friends or even offer an awkward wave to someone whose eyes pierce through whoever dares to gaze in to it, except she couldn’t anticipate what would happen if they didn’t care. If someone looked past her anger and fear, and tried to actually talk to her. Laura was that person – and she managed to drill her way through her walls, and sit beside her. But that was why she was hurting so much, why Carmilla struggles to keep eyes closed long enough to let an unknown force drag her into a different world. Laura always sat by her side but now, she was sitting on the far end of the table, failing to see the emotions on Carmilla’s face, failing to see the truth that sat in front of her.

 

A lone tear escaped her eye and she immediately lifted her sleeve to wipe it, refusing to that fear sink in to her bones once more, the fear of losing Laura. Laura goofily stumbled out of the bedroom, her hair sprung in all directions with an irritating headache that was refusing to move on.

“Someone explain to me why there’s a tiny man with a hammer banging the inside of my head?” said Laura groggily, finally opening her eyes to see Carmilla standing behind the counter mixing something in a large ceramic white bowl.

“What’s this?” she grinned, plopping down lazily on one of the red breakfast stools.

“Good morning to you too cupcake” the other woman replied, “ _This_ , is a common concoction, known as pancake batter” she teased, picking up the bowl and walking over to the pan behind her, pouring in the batter. Laura licked her lips, leaning forward on the counter.

“Do I get some?”

“No” Carmilla deadpanned, instantly laughing when she turned her head, seeing a very offended Laura. “Of course you can have some” she smiles. The brunette grins smugly, hopping off the stool and moving to the couch, switching on the wide screen TV that hung on the wall. Turning it on, Laura relaxed into the sofa, sticking her legs up on the wooden coffee table and slowly becoming engulfed into the TV.

 

Carmilla continued on her task, feeling oddly proud at the stack of pancakes she was producing. Frying some bacon in another pan she checked her phone again, double-checking the time so she wouldn’t be late for work. The cooking took up most of her attention as she grabbed two plates out of the cupboard and served the food, placing three pancakes and bacon for Laura and four for herself with extra bacon. As she gently went to place the plates on the bench her grip fumbled as her ears picked up a ladies voice from the TV.

“On more important news a dead body has been discovered last night, shockingly the body was found with only the top half, the bottom believed to be eaten. Anyone in the Silas area is advised to take caution and to stay clear of forest areas”

“Oh god…” Laura breathed, turning her head towards Carmilla who was trying with all her power to keep her breathing under control.

“Yeah” Carmilla gulped, setting the plates down. Laura moved to stand up, walking over to the bench.

“That’s right here” said Laura while reaching at a knife and fork, “You reckon whatever killed that man would come into the town?”

“No,” Carmilla said a little to quickly, causing Laura to quirk up an eyebrow. “I mean, the uh animal that did this would probably be too afraid to come into a loud and big town” her cheeks were turning redder by the second as her words messily tumbled from her mouth, “It’ll probably just stay in the forest… thing.”

Laura slowly nodded her head while her mouth was full on pancake, trying to suppress her giggles. Carmilla chuckled back softly, focusing on the food in front of her.

“Guess we just have to be careful for a bit” the brunette added, her belly growling as she continued on to her (delicious) pancakes.

“Yeah, I guess”

 

***

 

Carmilla hesitantly pushed through the precincts doors, avoiding eye contact with anyone who bothered to look her way. Staring at the floor she sighed a breath of relief when she the felt the familiar feeling of her black leather chair touching her back.

“Morning Karstein” said her partner absentmindedly; much more focused on the case file she was reading on her computer her blue eyes not leaving the screen. Carmilla jumped at her name, her entire body on edge.

“Morning Xena” she stammered, causing an annoyed eye roll from the other girl, which brought back the grin to Carmilla’s face.

“It’s been two years, you know its Danny,” she growls, falling back into her chair and actually bothering to look at the person in front of her.

“No, no I’m _sure_ it’s Xena” she continues, her smirk growing wider.

“Shut up, it’s Monday I’m too tired for this” Danny sighs.

“Were you up all night fighting evil?” Carmilla cocks her head to side, ducking as Danny playfully throws a tissue box at her. She was about to throw it back when the sound of the captain’s footsteps captured her attention, she immediately picked up the box and put it on the table while doing a shushing motion to her partner. Moments later a woman with smooth dark chocolate skin stepped proudly out of her office; everyone fell silent.

 

“I’m sure you’ve all heard the commotion of the animal attack on the news” she spoke, her words precise and clear, “I know this is the first truly _interesting_ incident to happen in this town but none of you will let that affect your work. Do not let the rumors fool you, this is a professional environment which means that this bet that I’ve heard of, will not be undertaken.” A series groans filled the room as the captain nodded and went back into her office. Carmilla turned back on her chair, noticing the disappointing look on Danny’s face.

“Damnit, you know I had $20 on a wolf attack?” she huffed.

“A wolf attack?” Carmilla scoffed.

“Well yeah, what else would it be?”

“I don’t know, maybe a mountain lion or something?” She replied, feeling strangely offended that Danny assumed a wolf had done it.

“Nah, they’re not strong enough for what happened” said Danny, going back to her work.

“No way, I could-“ Carmilla instantly faked coughed, internally slapping herself, “ _It_ could easily have done that.”

“Well, lucky us we get to check it out”

“What?” She choked, her hand freezing as it reached for her coffee.

“Yeah, we leave after you speak with the captain, she wanted to see you before we left” said Danny nonchalantly, still focusing on her work.

“R-Right” Carmilla stuttered, pushing her self from the desk and hesitantly walking to the end of the room and into the captain’s office. She made her way to the door, taking a deep breath before lifting her hand to knock but just as she lifted her hand, the woman’s voice called from inside for her to come in. Lowering her hand she reached for the doorknob, striding in the room.

 

“You wanted to see me Mattie?”

“Yes, please sit” the tall woman was sitting in her large chair, pointing to the seat in front of her. Carmilla nodded, nervously sitting herself in the chair.

“And could you please at least try to call me captain?” She said playfully sternly, Carmilla grinned in response.

“You’re like a sister to me, why would I give you the idea that you have authority over me?” Mattie laughed in response, instantly sending a wave of ease through the other woman’s body.

“Well you have to at least do as I say, I’m sure you’ve been told that you’ll be checking out the death of Julian Stevens” said Mattie, her tone returning to it’s usually seriousness.

“Is that the victim of the animal attack?” Carmilla questioned.

“Yes, I just wanted to ask you about the incident, in private.” There was something behind Mattie’s voice that Carmilla couldn’t quite place, as if there was an entirely different set of words behind the ones she said.

“Alright” said Carmilla trying to sound as smooth as possible. Mattie took a deep breath, treading lightly.

“I’ve been told by your father that you were attacked the other night, two weeks ago” She went on, noticing her sister’s body stiffen.

“I was.”

“Why didn’t you report it in?”

“We wouldn’t have been able to do anything, it was just a couple of drunks being assholes” she scoffs, desperately trying to change the topic. Mattie stayed silent, her eyes drilling into Carmilla’s.

“So they just picked fight with you, nothing else happened?” said Mattie as if she already knew the answer.

“Nothing else happened,” said the detective seriously. The captain lent back in her chair, refusing to give up.

“The victim was killed on the same night that you were attacked” she pressed, causing Carmilla’s throat to tighten, her lungs compressing tighter and tighter.

“It was animal attack” she croaks out.

“So there’s no correlation between this man’s death and you?” she leans in closer.

“No, it’s just a coincidence”

“You are certain?”

“Positive.” Mattie finally gives in after a long silence, neither of them breaking eye contact. Realizing she wasn’t going to get the answers she wanted, she let Carmilla leave (which she did incredibly quickly). The second she was on the other side of the door her heart began to slow down, abandoning its task on breaking through her ribs.

“Shit” Carmilla pants, straightening out her black pants and messily making her way back to her desk.

 

Danny saw her partner make her way over; she was surprised to see Carmilla actually… rattled? Did someone actually _scare_ Carmilla? Did the captain manage to get through to the one person in this precinct who could probably be a demon? A part of her wanted to mock her for it, as she normally did, but the bigger part of her refused; she wasn’t being a complete asshole today so she probably shouldn’t ruin it.

“Hey broods we gotta’ run” said Danny, grabbing her jacket off her chair.

“Yeah” Carmilla gulped, trying to shake whatever remaining thoughts were in her mind. “Let’s move wanna-buffy” she smirks, rushing out the room before the other woman could get in another word.

 

***

 

The car pulled up at the edge of the forest. There was no roadway for them to drive through, forcing them to go the rest of the way on foot. The two women got out of the car, except one of them much slowly then the other. Fear and adrenaline was pumping through her veins, blurring her mind and only letting the absolute worst-case scenarios to play in her head. But as she stepped out and sniffed the crisp air she couldn’t help but smile pleasantly, subconsciously letting out a soft purr.

“You coming Karnstein?” Danny called.

“Uh yeah, I’m coming,” said Carmilla lightly shaking her head. Focus.

 

They walked further and deeper into the towering forest, having gotten barley any sleep, Carmilla was fighting the urge to climb up one of the ancient trees and sleep away her problems. ‘Another time maybe’ she thought to herself. She felt a part of her start to relax when she could start to see where the attack site was; it wasn’t in a warehouse, maybe she could get away with the animal attack idea. Soon they reached the site, there were already a few people there who were taking photos of the scene and drafting up tape around; Carmilla furrowed her brows in confusion.

“Why does this seem like a murder site, it was just an animal attack?”

“Captains orders” Danny shrugs, sending shivers down her partner’s spine. The body came into sight and they both quickened there pace, stopping as they finally reached their target.

 

“God that is nasty” said Danny disgusted, struggling to keep her eyes on the corpse in front of her. It was the same man from the night that Carmilla was attacked. A part of her was stuck in denial, believing it was just what she tried to convince Mattie before, a coincidence. But her luck didn’t hold up, because the second she laid eye’s on the body her stomach churned uncomfortably… she could still remember the taste of his flesh, the heat from his blood. She wanted to throw up, the mere idea that the other part of him was once inside her makes her nearly gag, forcing her to having to swallow down her body’s attempts of escaping.

“Yeah I think your boyfriend needs a makeover” said Carmilla off handily, crouching down by the body. “Well it’s safe to say not even a pyscho-maniac could have done this” Carmilla sighs.

“Yeah I guess so” Danny adds, looking around the area of the body, “something seems off though”

“What do you mean?” Carmilla was trying to hide the panic etched in her voice.

“If this man was indeed killed and eaten here then… why is there hardly any blood?” the gears in Danny’s mind were starting to click, her thoughts jumping from one to another.

“It rained, it must have washed it away” Carmilla reasoned.

“The body is dry”

“It’s probably been dry _ing_ ”

“It rained last night.” Carmilla fell silent; she was running out of excuses to distract her while Danny drew dangerously closer to the truth. “And the body is strangely well maintained, it wouldn’t be like this if it was out in the open for so long” the tall woman finally stood up, “It’s been moved.”

“Are you sure?” Carmilla said uneasily.

“Definitely and I think-” The woman’s gaze fell to the floor where and with much determination; a path of where the body had been dragged could be seen. “Bingo” she grinned.

 

Carmilla felt as though her body was paralyzed, everything that could’ve went wrong, went wrong. Sure, she did kill a man and that probably meant karma was having a field day with her but he wasn’t even a man, he was a damn wolf! Why is the universe trying in everyway possible to destroy her life, she didn’t _really_ deserve it… did she?

“Karnstein, come on the tracks lead this way,” Danny said eagerly. Carmilla didn’t respond, instead giving her a nervous nod and following closely behind. They followed the tracks together, the stench of death becoming more and more prominent to her senses as they neared closer, while her heart was bruising against her ribcage as it fought harder and faster to escape. Her ebony tinged hair glistened in the sunlight that shined through the trees, it’s light guiding to one persons hell to another’s gold mine. After trekking through the woods for around ten minutes, a large metal warehouse came into Carmilla’s view; and it struck her so hard her own footing faulted. That pure fear was threatening to bubble to the surface. Carmilla saw the warehouse much sooner than Danny, but when she eventually did she broke into a sprint, which her partner reluctantly followed. The soft wet crunches of the leaves echoed gently through the forest as the two women raced to the building, reaching it within a matter of minutes yet only one of them needed to stop for a second to catch their breath. Danny cautiously walked up to the metal door, noticing the blood on the handle.

“This is it” she panted, sliding on a pair of blue gloves before carefully swinging open the door.

 

The room was exactly how she last saw it. The chair was lying on its back to the ground, ripped rope lazily spread on top of it. The same pole with the sharp flicking up edge was placed near it and just to make Carmilla’s stomach drop so hard it physically pained her; blood was smeared leading from to the door to a large red puddle in the same spot she left it.

“Holy shit” Danny breathed, slowly walking into the room. Carmilla followed behind, refusing to let her emotions take hold of her. Danny paced over to the chair examining it.

“It looked like someone was held here or something” she mumbled, reaching down and picking up the rope.

“Looks like they got out” Carmilla coughed, making sure to stay close to Danny.

“I guess so, it looks like it’s been pulled apart…”

“Someone probably cut her free with a knife messily, maybe someone rescued whoever was there” Danny instantly looked at Carmilla with confusion.

“Her?” said Danny questionably. Carmilla’s eyes widened but she quickly managed to calmed herself down, afraid that her own stupidity was going to be her downfall.

“I mean I’m just guessing, hypothetically” said Carmilla coolly. Danny slowly nodded her head in response, going back to investigating the scene.

“You still think it was an animal attack?” she asked, walking around the room.

“I reckon so, maybe someone was tied up and a wild animal somehow got in, killing the man inside” Carmilla replied.

“So do you think the victim was the capturer or the person in the chair?” Carmilla held her tongue on her immediate replay, desperately trying not to raise any more suspicion.

“I don’t know” she eventually answered. “You check out the inside I’m going to look around outside the area for anything.”

“Alright” said Danny, still engulfed to the scene around her. Carmilla nodded and left the room, immediately falling against the metal door when the rush from the outside hit her - the coldness from the metal searing her skin. Shutting her eyes tight Carmilla took a moment to control her breathing, because the second the got out of the room behind her it was like her entire body buckled and shook, finally letting itself go. But before her emotions grew too strong, she caught a movement in her eye. The world seemed to still, as all the things that made her human stripped away and the beast within her could grow. The only sounds were her own heartbeat, softly thudding inside her and the gentle rustle in the leaves from the morning breeze; but then the slightest crunch of a twig ringed in her eyes and her head snapped to the left where a crouching man froze from being spotted. He was a couple meters away, taken back that he had been spotted before he had decided to be seen.

 

“What you doing?” asked Carmilla, her question sounding more like a threat. The blue-eyed man straightened his posture, feeling strangely intimated by the other woman’s gaze.

“Just out for a walk ma’am” he stated calmly.

“A walk?” Carmilla scoffed, facing her body towards him. “Do you live near here?”

“Why you ask?” he replied, taking a few steps towards her confidently. Carmilla grinned smugly, reaching into her back pocket and pulling out her police badge. The man’s face instantly fell.

“Mind telling me if you live near here?” Carmilla smirks, striding up towards him.

“Yeah I do, I like to walk here now and again” said the man sheepishly. Why does it have to be a cop?

“You do realize this is a crime scene yeah?” she quirks up an eyebrow.

“What?” he replies dumbly.

“In there, someone’s been killed” she points to the warehouse behind her. “You saying you were just walking by?”

“I had no idea ma’am” he says defensively, backing up slightly. Carmilla eyes the man in front of her. His coffee coloured hair was short; looking to be incredibly well groomed (he probably used more hair product than herself) while his body was fit and muscular.

“My name’s Will by the way, I don’t mean to cause any trouble” he assured politely.

“Then why were you sneaking up on me before?” her gaze hardened and she couldn’t help but feel her lips perk up as she saw panic start to rise in his eyes.

“I wasn’t, I was wanting to have a conversation with you” said Will, his voice regaining it’s confidence.

“A conversation?”

“Yeah, I could smell you from in the building. To be honest I just wanted to startle you a little but, you saw me before I could” he chuckled, his posture relaxing. The second the words left his mouth Carmilla stiffened; smelt only meant one thing.

“What do you want?” Carmilla growled, her hairs standing on end.

“Hey relax, I just wanted to know if you could help a brother out” said Will, rising up his hands.

“Help a brother out?” she scoffs, shaking her head.

“Yeah, you tell me where that panther person is and I won’t have to kill you” he sneers. Carmilla manages to keep her composure together, trying to control the anger inside of her.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about” she deadpans, standing her ground.

“Oh come on, I very much know you do” he grins, edging closer towards her, “this ‘scene’ you’re investigating right now is where it happened, where that _kitty_ broke the law”

“Last I heard kidnapping people was against the law too.” Will sighs to himself, knowing this wasn’t going to go pleasantly. Within the second, he slammed Carmilla into the ground, his hand on an iron grip on her neck. Carmilla grunted in pain, her eyes flaring up in rage.

“You piece of shit” she snarls, clasping her hands on his in an attempt to rip them off. His grip tightens and her face reddens, his supernatural strength paralyzing her every move.

“Tell me where to the find the panther,” he grumbles, slightly relaxing his grip to let the girl speak.

“Go to hell” she spits, using the opportunity to head butt him in the face. He staggers backwards, grabbing at his nose as blood pours from it staining the leaves. He growls aggressively, pulling out a knife from his leather jacket, flipping it in his hand.

“I’ll kill you if you don’t tell me what I need to know” he barks, adjusting his stance.

“That’s the thing you nitwit, I _don’t_ know”

“Just tell me where it is!” he roars, lunging at her in a fit of anger. Carmilla hadn’t taken into account his supernatural speed and the blade just grazes the side of her skin, a red mark across the edge of her stomach. His knife sliced with ease through the metal wall of the warehouse, pushing all his weight against her.

“I need this” Will mutters, his face inches from Carmilla’s, “now stop being a bitch and tell me where that fucking disgrace is!” he snaps, struggling to pull the knife out of the metal it’s lodged in.

“Sure I’ll tell you,” she pant’s breathless, leaning in closer. “They’re not here.” Will yells in acrimony, finally pulling out the knife from the wall. But as he does a surge of power rockets through the cop’s body and shoves the attacker off her, instantly charging at him as he stumbles back stunned from his change in position. Carmilla punches him before wrapping her hands around his head and smashing his face into her knee, smacking him once more into the ground. The knife tossed to the cold dirt next to him, the blade glistening in the morning sun.

“Karnstein?” Danny’s voice calls from inside warehouse. Carmilla whips her head around to find the source of the sound, her eye’s screaming with panic as the confused red headed woman emerges slowly from behind the door. Will doesn’t miss the sudden opportunity, snatching at the knife beside him but Carmilla catches him in the act; reaching for it at the same time. The two touch the blade at the exact same moment and their eyes lock briefly, each knowing what it meant. Will growls before kicking her away, channeling all his strength into his legs sending her flying and smashing painfully into the hard wet ground. She messily pulls herself back up, ignoring Danny’s voice as she rushes once more at Will, her mind starting to blur into only one goal; to kill. The primal urge within her growls and she rushes in a blur at him but just as she closes in on him she falls to the floor, sliding underneath him. His head snaps around in a brief daze before he felt a sudden pain to the right side of his jaw sending him to floor, the knife still in a deadlock grip in his hand.

 

Danny finally gets a grasp on a situation in front of her, clumsily grabbing at her radio and calling back up as she runs forward to help contain the situation. Just as Carmilla reaches for the gun on her side, Will kicks out her leg from below, sending her on top of him. She lands with a loud groan and starts to feel her body weaken, unable to move as blood drips from her mouth. Danny rushes with her gun, shouting in fury as Will pushes Carmilla’s limp body off of him, sliding the knife out of her stomach.

“Drop the weapon, drop the fucking weapon!” Danny screams, aiming her gun directly at his head. Will stills, taking a deep breath before slowly bending down and placing the knife carefully on the ground.

“Get down, get down on the ground!” Danny moves closer to him as he crouches down on his knees, placing his hands behind his head. But as Danny gets behind him while she reaches for her handcuffs, he swiftly stands back up, punching her in the gut; using the chance to escape, the blood stained man disappears into the trees. Danny only glances at woods for a second before falling to the floor and ripping off the sleeve of her plaid blue shirt, putting as much pressure as she could on the wound.

“Karnstein, stay with me okay? Karnstein, can you hear me?” Danny breathed out in a panic, frantically looking up in hope of seeing the back up she called for to arrive.

“I’m fine” Carmilla moans, “It’s just a scratch”

“Jesus how dumb are you?” she pants, her heart dropping as her once blue make-shift rag was morphing into the colour red, blood spilling out from underneath. “Listen help will be here soon okay? I just need you to hold on”

“Lawrence, I want you to know that if I die-“

“Shut up you piece of shit that’s not happening” she could feel her eye’s start to water as Carmilla’s words became softer and softer.

“Please, if I die, promise me you’ll reboot the Xena series staring as yourself” Carmilla mumbles. She tries to laugh but it comes out as mess of strangled breaths causing Danny to lightly chuckled back.

“I hate you so much, you know that right?” said Danny with a sad smile, trying to push harder on the wound.

“Oh don’t get all soft on me now” Carmilla grins. The sound of a loud shuffle of feet hit both of their ears and Danny snapped her head forwards, while Carmilla failed to pull the strength together to adjust her head.

“They’re here, they’re here it’s all going to be okay” Danny smiled but her face fell as she looked down at Carmilla, her eyes shut.

“Karnstein? Carmilla?” Danny’s words sounded foreign, like a language she had never had before; the world spun in a blur as her eyes fell to a close, their weight to heavy to bear.

 

Carmilla felt a final deep breath wash over her body, and then everything went black.


	6. Dreaming of You

The coffee cup smashed in the wooden floorboards, the brown liquid spilling everywhere. His mouth hung agape, still trying to comprehend what had happened, what the hell he was going to do. His trembling hand reached for the black TV remote, shakily pressing down on the button. The words from the TV still echoed through his ears, ‘A half eaten body has been found in the Silas area’ her voice taunted him replaying in a never-ending cycle that drilled into his mind. They found the body. How is that possible, Malcom was meant to get rid of it?

“Malcom…” Liam eyes widened in realization. “Damn Malcom” he growls, jumping up from the leather maroon couch, snatching his keys and storming towards the door.

 

It took him an hour to get to where he needed to go. The glowing red lights flickered in the rain as the windscreen wipers thrashed back and forth, the rain growing harder by each passing second. He tapped on the wheel anxiously, his eyes locked on the building to his left, a tall apartment structure laced with old red bricks stacked high; his heart beat quickened as his sight drifted to a broken window that looked to be on the fifth floor, the floor where Malcom’s room was. Pushing his thoughts of dread aside the engine of his car growled in anticipation, as the traffic light switched from red to green. Rolling forward, Liam messily veered left, getting a series of curses and honks from the other drivers but their complaints barely registered to him, as he drew nearer to the building he knew that something was wrong. Clumsily stumbling out the car not even caring that it was in a loading zone, he rushed to the door breaking the handle and swinging the door open. Liam sprinted up the steps but the higher he went, the stronger the scent of blood grew. He made his way up the stairs in a matter of seconds, smashing through the staircase door and freezing only after just taking a few steps forward.

“Malcom” Liam panted, the scent of blood and wolf infecting his nose. He sprinted down the hallway, a door with the black letters spelling out ‘Malcom’s Investigations’ sat at the end of the hallway, the glass window was cracked with the broken handle ripped off the door and laying on the ground beneath it. Liam kicked open the door and his breath caught in his throat. The room was a complete mess; the cabinets on the sides of the room were ripped and dented with piles of paper scattered across the floor. The window was shattered with drips of blood decorating the edges of the glass but at the back of the room, where the large wooden desk sat, was something that elicited such raged inside of Liam he nearly threw up. He hesitantly walked up to the desk, gazing down at the silver ring that was placed on the desk, a note sitting underneath. It was Carmilla’s ring. He chocked back a sob, shakily picking up the note and clenching his other fist, his knuckles pure white.

‘Your time is up’ the words said, the black letters written elegantly in cursive. A single tear dropped onto the yellow sticky note before he angrily tore apart the note, letting out a scream that bounced off the walls. His trembling body fell to the floor and he couldn’t hold it any longer. Tears spilled from his blue eyes littering the marble ground while he shook violently, his broken sobs being the only sound in the room.

“I’m sorry,” he whimpered before Liam screamed in agony one more time, smashing his hand through the ground. His fist nearly went through the entire floor but he slowly lifted his hand out of the hole, not even feeling the pain from a piece of wood stabbing his middle finger. Just as he was about to storm out the room and go hunting to release at least the slightest bit of anger his phone buzzed in his pocket. Growling softly he stood up carefully, reaching into his jeans and answering the call.

“Liam” The woman’s voice was filled with relief the second he picked up.

“Laura?” He asks puzzled. Laura never calls him, the last time she called him Carmilla had gotten into a fight at the bar and Laura took her to hospital even though Carmilla insisted she was okay. She wasn’t.

“Is something wrong?” he questioned. There was a pause on the other line and Liam started to connect the dots. Did they get to her like they got to Liam? The mere thought felt like claws ripping through his body, inflicting as much pain as it could.

“Carmilla… she was hurt on duty, she’s in hospital.” Laura explained, “She’s at the local hospital”

“Hurt? Hurt how?” said Liam, his voiced filled with panic.

“She was stabbed, she’s in surgery now” Laura said, her voice was so soft the only reason Liam heard her was because of his heightened hearing.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Laura mumbled a good-bye before the line went dead and Liam was left with the painful silence once more. Walking over to the desk he picked up the ring and slid it into his pocket before rushing out the door.

 

\---

 

Her eyes fluttered open as the soft cold breeze bit at her cheeks. The grass tickled at her skin as she slowly sat up, a few small leaves poking out from her hair. Her jaw instantly dropped as her eyes met the sky above; it was a hazy violet with blurred white clouds drifting through the colours, they seemed to morph into each other. Now looking in front of her she noticed she was sitting in a field, no trees or any structures in sight, only a vibrant green grass spreading across the land.

“I always loved the colour purple” A voice spoke from behind her, making Carmilla’s head swiftly lock on to the woman.

“Mum?’ Carmilla gasps, scrambling up to her feet. “You’re alive”

“I’m sorry sweetie, but I’ve lived my life already” she smiles softly, reaching forward to stroke Carmilla’s cheek. She leans into the touch, sniffing as she tries to contain her emotions.

“You’re so beautiful” she grins, letting her hand fall back to her side.

“How are you here?” Carmilla replies softly.

“There is no here Carmilla, there is only now” said Piper, leaning forward kissing her daughter’s forehead before turning on her feet walking away. She turns her head around, seeing that Carmilla hadn’t moved still rooted to her spot.

“Carmilla, come on” she smiles, reaching out her hand. Her feet take her forward before her mind even registers that she’s moved, a magnet like force pulling her towards her mother.

“Where are we going?” Carmilla asks, her mind in a daze.

“Where you need to go.”

 

**

 

“Oh thank god you’re here” Laura exclaims, running into Liam with a tight hug. He wraps his large muscular arms around Laura, hugging tightly but making sure to be gentler than usual.

“I got here as quick as I could” He pants, noticing the redness under Laura’s eyes.

“I know, she just got out she’s in room 2A” Liam couldn’t help but feel the corner of his lips tugged upwards; his daughter was alive. Liam nodded firmly, following close behind the brunette as she led them to where her fiancée was being held. After taking a confusing amount of turns they finally made it to the room, Laura walking in first.

 

Carmilla’s body lay peacefully in the side of the room, her body completely motionless, the only movement being the ticking of the clock that sat on the bedside table next to her. Laura stood by the door while Liam entered the room, hesitantly walking over to the still body, kneeling down by her side. Lifting up her hand softly, he intertwined their hands taking a deep breath and kissing her hand.

“I’m sorry this happened to you,” he whispered, his eyes never leaving his daughters face. “I’ll find who ever did this, you have my word.” He mutters angrily, leaning forward and leaving a soft kiss on her head.

“I love you” Liam smiles, letting go of her hand and standing up. “Thank you” he says to Laura. She smiles back giving him one last hug before shuffling to the side, letting him pass through the door. Closing the door, she follows Liam’s same pattern, walking painfully slow into the room but instead of crouching down she pulls a near-by chair close to the bed. She doesn’t reach for her hand at first, instead staring at the cold floor, her eyes shut tight. She lets a deep breath escape her lips, her gaze finally drifting to the woman in front of her.

“It’s not fair how you look so beautiful even when you’re asleep” she chuckles sadly, staring at the floor once more. The smile on her face fades and she’s left with what she refuses to let herself feel; fear.

“They said there was something strange about you when they stitched you up” Laura mumbles, fidgeting with the edge of her shirt. “Saying you uh you should have died” her breath catches in her throat but she shakes her head in refusal, not letting the tears fall, “They say it’s a miracle you’re still here, that you shouldn’t be. You should have seen my face when they told me that there was a high chance you wouldn’t make it out, hoo boy” she laughs lightly to herself, “If this place were a restaurant we are _definitely_ banned.” Laura looks up to Carmilla, the realization that she couldn’t actually reply hitting her like a brick wall, Carmilla wasn’t here, just the shell of her body was. “Don’t leave me Carm. I love you so much, you’re my hero” she finally reaches out her hand to Carmilla’s. “Don’t leave me” she whimpers, kissing her fiancées hand, “for the love of god don’t leave me.”

 

**

 

The ground trembled below her foot as mountains rose from the grass fields. They grew on the edges forming a path forward, blocking the gap behind her. “What’s happening?” Carmilla asks, quickening her pace.

“You are in danger Carmilla, you’ve opened the gates to a new world but you refuse to walk through them” Piper replied, her eyes focused forward, her feet never stopping on their trek.

“What?” Carmilla furrowed her brows in confusion, “why are you being so cryptic?” Piper stops in her tracks, turning towards her daughter.

“I am not being cryptic, you are refusing to accept”

“Accept?” she scoffs back in annoyance.

“You are so much stronger than you know darling.” When the words left her mouth, the mountains retracted back into the earth, shaking the very ground they stood on. Instead, ginormous tall trees grew where the mountains once stood. The roots wove from dirt climbing higher and higher in a hypnotic pattern until they reached their limit, now spreading from the top with vibrant red leaves morphing from the branches. The sky drifted from violet to orange, a bright white moon starting to creep at the edge of the skies. Carmilla’s eyes were fixed on the transformation so that when she eventually looked back to her mother, she found she was further away, standing in the middle of a road. Her clothes had changed from a white dress to a loose white shirt and black jeans – the clothes she wore the night she was killed. From the darkness of the trees emerged two men, their bodies and faces blurred, their bodies seeming more like flickering ghosts. She tried to scream to Piper but no sound came out, her legs were paralyzed; only letting her watch the scene in front of her.

 

“Well hello there Sarah” one of the men snarled, the two men began to circle around Piper. Even though they were far away the voices sounding like they standing right next to her, their voice echoing in timeless loop.

“Leave now and I won’t rip out your neck” Piper retorted, widening her stance.

“Aw that’s so cute you think you stand a chance” he hummed, snickering to himself. “Play nice and we may even let you go” he grinned.

“Fuck off” she growled, her eyes jumping back and forth between the two attackers.

“Where’s the kid” the other man said, his voice much less confident than the other. Carmilla focused on him, something felt familiar, like a word on the tip of her tongue. She raked through her brain trying to place where she’d heard that voice but as was dragged into her own mind, the scene started to play again.

“You’ll never find her” a low growl escaped both of the men’s mouths, “you’ll have to go back to your master with your tails between your legs,” their hairs began to stand on end, their fists clenching. She took a step forward, staring them dead in the eye. “Oh please master” she mocked, “don’t send me to the pound again!” The older one roared, lunging at her. She easily stepped out of the way, slightly taken back that when she turned to the attacker he was already changing into a wolf. Not missing the opportunity she pulled a dagger out of her boot and ran over to the groaning man, but before she reached him, the younger man grabbed her arm, punching her to the ground. Carmilla screamed once more, her vocals chords strained, rubbing against her dry throat but the harder she tried the less the sound came. All she could do was watch.

The wolf growled barring its teeth, it’s brown shaggy fur swaying in the wind. Piper pulled herself up within the second, kicking the man behind her away, he staggered backwards clutching at his stomach. The wolf snarled, creeping up towards her. She backed up carefully, painfully slowly reaching for her knife on the ground. The wolf continued to snarl, snapping its jaws as saliva dripped from its fangs; she crouched down, picking up the knife. The second her fingers grazed the blade the wolf pounced, its black eyes piercing into her own.

“No!” Carmilla squeaked her voice being muffled by the treacherous air, forcing it’s way down her throat. But the wolf didn’t rip into her throat instead, letting out a painful whine before slumping off her, blood pouring from its stomach. She stumble back up, a small smile on her face from her kill. Carmilla breathed a breath of relief, but then the world froze. Her legs were freed from their invisible chains; she collapsed to the ground with hot wet tears dripping from her eyes. Blood began to trickle from Piper’s mouth; she hesitantly looks down to the source of the immense pain, almost passing out when she see’s a fist covered in blood sticking out from below. Lifting her gaze forwards, she looks straight into Carmilla’s eyes, a soft smile tugging at her lips.

“Don’t forget what you are Carmilla. Finish what we started.” Said Piper, her voice wavering.

“Mum…” Carmilla sobbed, trying to drag herself towards her.

“There must be peace or all of us will perish” she coughed, blood splattering onto the grass. The man retracted his hand, and she fell on her knees. “Please, for me, save us all.” She gave one last smile before her body fully fell to the floor, her eyes lifeless.

“No!” Carmilla moaned, reaching out her hand. Shutting her eyes tight she stopped the flow of tears, instead flickering her eyes open with pure rage. Raising her knee and using it as leverage, she hoisted herself up; finally looking her mum’s killer in the eye. He stared back, panting heavily.

“Sorry ma’am” he smirked, the blurry haze being lifted from his face. Her eyes widened in realization; she recognized those blue eyes.

“Will?” she breathed confused. He grinned smugly before he gently closed his eyes, his body starting to drift in the air, his face changing into dust.

“No! Come back!” She roared. The ground roared back at her, the once beautiful oak trees morphing into black, the sky darkened and hawks screamed; the earth began to crack. Her leg fell through the newly formed hole, she instantly pulled it out, a long deep scar streaked on the side of it. Adrenaline flooded her body and she ignored the pain, sprinting for her life away from the chaos.

 

The towering trees fell to the ground behind her as she ran, the cracks becoming more frequent chasing her every step; she did nothing but run, the pain in her leg starting to grow. The darkness was starting to cloud her sight, creeping in at the edges of her gaze while the trees in front of her morphed into a thick black smoke, threating to seep into her lungs. But as she started to fear that she wasn’t going to make it, a white glow appeared far away in front of her, there a was magnetic pull taking her to the light and she found that her legs somehow sped up. Whipping her head behind her she saw the falling trees starting to lag behind, the cracks fading further and further away. A tug at the corner of her lips pulled as she realized she was going to make it, but all of sudden everything stopped. It stopped in an instant; all the sound that was clanging at her ears dropped leaving nothing but the sound of ragged breaths. She turned her head forwards, only to see Liam staring back at her, a knife in her stomach.

“Wha-”

“Choose who you trust carefully” he muttered right before everything went black.

 

***

Her burnt umber tinted eyes fluttered open, immediately shutting at the artificial light blazing at her retina. She groaned irritated, lifting her arm to shield her eyes from the beaming light. Carmilla moved to sit up, wincing as a sharp pain shot through her stomach, her hand instantly moving to hold the source of the pain.

“Shit” she grumbled lifting up the blanket and moving her gown to side to reveal a large white bandage taped to her stomach.

“I wouldn’t touch that If I were you” Lafontaine advised, sitting nervously in the chair.

“Laf?” Carmilla replied confused.

“That’s me!” they chuckled lightly, their smile dropping when they saw Carmilla was still glaring at them.

“Where am I?” she scanned the room around her, on the bedside table to her right was bunch of flowers in a vase, they were roses. Her favourite.

“You’re in hospital, you uh you got stabbed” they explain sheepishly, “You only survived because of your abnormally fast healing.” Carmilla gulped, trying to take everything in. Her memories of what had happened came back to her; she had to bite her tongue to stop herself from growling in rage. Her gaze flicked back to the flowers, remembering only Laura knew what her favourites were.

“Laura…” her eyes widened with fear, ‘Laura, is Laura okay? Where is she? Is she safe?”

“Woah calm down, she went out to get snacks from the vending machine” they raised their hands up softly, “she’ll be back soon. She just needed some coffee and sugar, you know that girl stayed the _entire_ night here?” Carmilla’s heart swelled.

“So, she’s okay?” Carmilla asks relieved.

“She’s okay” Lafontaine confirms. Their head snaps to the door unexpectedly. “Laura will be here soon. I’ll get out of your hair” they grin before getting out of the chair, walking towards the door.

“Wait” Carmilla calls; Lafontaine freezes, their hands trembling. They really didn’t want to be on her bad side.

“Yeah?” they reply nervously, turning to look at Carmilla.

“Thank you, for uh helping Laura” said Carmilla softy, offering a genuine smile; “I mean you did help her through the night right?”

“Yes! Yes of course, you can even ask her for proof if you want” they quickly spit out. Lafontaine notices Carmilla bite back a grin, and spins around to exit the room.

 

Laura strides into the room, balancing a serious worryingly amount of cookies in her arm with a large steaming cup of coffee in her free hand.

“So I wasn’t sure which type of cookies you liked so _obviously_ I got all the flavours and like you would be really surprised at how many the have now like dam-” her hands dropped, the cookies and the coffee smashing into the floor.

“Careful cupcake that coffee is ho-” her speech was cut off when an excited Laura runs into her, wrapping her arms around her tightly, her face buried into Carmilla’s neck.

“Thank god you’re okay” Laura pants, hugging tighter. Carmilla holds back her wince as the sharp pain returns, instead focusing on the fact Laura was safe and in her arms.

“I’m okay, I’m right here” she replies, planting a soft kiss on her neck before leaning back her arms still holding Laura’s shoulders.

“They didn’t know why you wouldn’t wake up, I thought I’d lost you, I…” Laura takes a deep breath, wiping her sniffling nose with her sleeve, “I thought you left me.”

“There’s no force on earth that could ever do that” Carmilla assures, lifting her hand to stroke Laura’s cheek, “I could never leave you” she whispers. Laura gives in, leaning forward and softly kissing the woman in front of her. It was slow and gentle, expressing emotions and feelings no words could ever describe. Slowly they broke the kiss, letting their foreheads lean against each other.

“I love you,” said Laura quietly, a lone tear escaping her closed eye. She felt a tender hand wipe her cheek, making Laura grin.

“I love you too.” Carmilla breathed, keeping her eyes shut. They stayed like that for a while, letting the silence engulf them letting the room still; there could have been a war outside but neither of them cared. They only cared that they were in each others arms again, their hearts slowed in time to each other; beating in blissful unison. Carmilla heard footsteps edging closer towards them but she ignored them, when the person actually made it to the door and knocked lightly, Laura jumped.

“Who are you?” Carmilla scowled making Laura swat her shoulder disapprovingly.

“I’m your doctor Carmilla, I’m very glad to see you’re awake” he smiled, walking over to her, “Would you mind if I talked with Carmilla privately?”

“Yes of course” Laura turns back to Carmilla, noticing the unease on her face. “You’ll be fine Carm” she coos, giving a quick peck to the lips before shuffling her way out of the room. Carmilla stiffens, feeling uncomfortable in his presence.

“You can relax, I just want to ask a couple questions” he chuckles, sitting on the chair by the bed.

“What do you want to know?”

“It’s a miracle you’re here Carmilla. I’m actually quite taken back” she eyes him down, her iron gaze not faltering, “I was wondering if I would allowed to take a few blood samples from you-”

“No” she snapped, startling the old man.

“I’m sorry?” he replied, slightly taken back.

“I want you to leave, clear me so I can go home and get your wolf ass out of here.” She growled, her fist digging into the blankets.

“How did you know?” his eyes sparkled with curiosity, “you shouldn’t be able to know”

“Well I can. So get out.” she hisses. He raises his hands up in surrender, moving from the chair and pacing over to the door. But before he leaves the eerily clean room, he stops by the doorway.

“You know if you turn your wound will be practically fully healed” said the man, nodding his head and heading out the door. Carmilla was left speechless, and the beast inside growled angrily. She was hungry.

 

 

Her foot was tapping nervously against the floor as she sat in the chair anxiously. Her gaze flickered to the white clock that was perched high up the wall, the hands ticking tauntingly slow. Looking back to the door she stared at the handle, praying with every ounce of her being that the metal will finally dip and the nurse would come back outside. She was told to wait outside while the nurse did a routine check up. Laura was so engulfed into her own mind she didn’t notice someone took a seat next to her; a gentle nudge from the man brought her attention back.

“How you doing?” his voice was calm and gentle, easing some of the tension inside of her.

“It’s not me you should be asking” she replied, staring at her fidgeting hands. Liam reached out his own, offering a reassuring squeeze.

“She’s fine. The doctor even cleared her to leave, she’ll be home tonight” he smiled.

“But should she even be up? What if it gets worse, s-she pulls a stitch or something?” Laura stammers, her eyes back on the door.

“Laura,” said Liam softly grabbing her shoulder, forcing her to look at him. “She’s strong, give it a couple days and it will seem as if nothing happened. You have your big day coming up soon, focus on that” he grins, leaning in for a hug when the brunette smiles back.

“Yeah” she sniffles, shaking her head, “Yeah, everything will work out.” The usual peppiness returns to her voice, as if the nervousness she was feeling before never even hit her. The two started to fall into conversation, which was quite surprising considering the fact that last week he probably wouldn’t have even _started_ a conversation without pestering from his daughter. But now was different. In all truth Liam was preparing for the inevitable – Laura wouldn’t remain in the dark forever, she was going to find out someday and someone is going to have to make the dreadful decision. He knows Carmilla couldn’t do it, so he would have to step up. Laura should at least feel like she has a family before that time; she deserves to be happy for as long as she can.

 

The door handle ultimately gave in. With a quiet _click_ the white door swung open and a woman in blue scrubs exited the room, looking to Laura and giving her a nod. Laura couldn’t help but squeal and immediately went to jump out of her (surprisingly uncomfortable) seat but was pulled back down when a strong hand gripped her arm.

“Sorry Laura, but would I be okay if I quickly talked to Carmilla first?” Laura looked back at him annoyed. “Please?” Liam sighs pleadingly.

“Fine” Laura huffs, not wanting to spoil their newfound friendship, “but please be quick?”

“Of course” he smiles, reaching down and picking up his black backpack before swinging over his shoulder. Laura slumps back into the chair ‘back to the waiting game’.

 

The moment he walked into the room Carmilla forgot about all the reasons why he should be upset that he was here, and instead her eyes widened. The scent of meat instantly flushed her sensing eagerly sat up, making herself wince from the short stab of pain that stung her, but she ignored it focusing more on the prospect of food.

“Give” she orders hungrily. Liam chuckled at his daughter’s tone, dismissing Carmilla’s request and instead sitting in the chair by her bed, except moving it a few feet away.

“We need to talk first” he asserts, giving Carmilla a stern look.

“You seriously doing this? I’m starving,” she growls back, straightening her posture.

“Carmilla your bitterness has forced me to do this, I’ve been needing to talk to you for weeks yet you keep refusing” he explains, trying to hold back his impatience.

“I wonder why?”

“Just _listen_ to me, please” he stares into her eyes and is extremely relieved when he notices her shoulders relax.

“Tell me fast, I can’t survive off pudding.” He can’t help but feel a small tug at his lips but he instantly hides it, not letting Carmilla get the upper hand again.

“You’ve gone through your first change, you must have noticed some things are different yes?”

“Yeah like my _hunger_ ” she strains the last word while her eyes drill into the bag by his feet, she could practically see the red waves radiating from the bag.

“Yes, but also your strength and reflexes and so forth” he pauses, waiting for the woman to confirm. Eventually Carmilla gives in.

“Good, but is there anything different? Like, just something out of the ordinary?”

“Out of the ordinary? Hm let me think..” Liam drops his head, taking a deep breath to control the anger that was building inside of him.

“Carmilla I need you to listen to me. I’m trying very hard here,” said Liam, his voice shaky.

“You’re trying very hard?” she scoffs.

“Yes I’m trying bloody hard!” he snaps, silencing his daughter. “Look this affects both you _and_ Laura okay. This isn’t all about you this could affect all of us!” his voice had started to rise. “We could be at the brink of war. We barely made it out of the last one and things still aren’t patched up so we do _not_ need an immature animal running around out there ruining it even more!”

“Oh I’m sorry for being such an inconvenience maybe if I was told sooner like say when I was fucking born we wouldn’t be here!” Carmilla fumes, the hurt dripping from her words. There’s a long silence before one of them speaks once more, the tension think in the air.

“I didn’t come here to fight” Liam explains, sighing while staring at the cold floor. “Your mother was meant to do this, she was the one that didn’t want to tell you.” This grabs Carmilla’s attention and the anger that was once there disappears in an instant.

“What?” she answers surprised.

“I thought it would be better if we brought you up like we were, being trained and taught. But your mother thought it would be safer if we hid it from you, since we being tracked and hunted, if someone questioned you, you wouldn’t have to lie.” He finally lifted his line of sight to his daughter, who was sitting shocked on her bed. “When she died, I went with what she wanted. For you.”

“Are you lying to me?”

“I never lie about her” He grunts. Carmilla fiddles with the sheets in her hand, suddenly feeling lost. She was blaming the wrong person and even then, how can you blame a passed loved one?

“Something weird did happen” said Carmilla softly. Liam looks up, but doesn’t speak instead he waits patiently. “My ‘doctor’ he was a wolf, I could smell it. But when I called him out on it, he was surprised.” Liam furrowed his brows in confusion.

“Did he have an jewelry on? He questions, leaning forward. Carmilla rakes through her mind genuinely, surprised when a crystal clear image of him appears in her head.

“Yeah, he had a necklace I think” said Carmilla absent-mildly, still deep in thought.

“Can you describe it to me?” he asks, trying not to disturb her thoughts.

“Yeah it was… it was gold, a circle shape, with a cross in the centre… and there was a wolfs head in the centre of that cross…” Liam chokes at the words. He knew exactly who he was. How did he find them so fast?

“Oh” he stutters, trying to regain his composure. “Um what he was wearing was uh a talisman. They are used to disguise scents, a lot of your kind use them but it’s forbidden for wolves too, only the royalty can.”

“Is that what my ring is?” Carmilla asks, oblivious to the significant mood change in Liam.

“Yeah, it also helped to restrict you from changing but it only does that before the first change. I brought it here, so you can’t be tracked, it’s not fool-proof but it can help.” Pushing the thoughts of dread out of his head, he reaches into his pocket pulling out the familiar ring. He hands it over, and Carmilla can’t help but smile when the cool metal touches her skin.

“I don’t know how you picked up his scent, that’s quite strange,” he pondered aloud to himself; He was about to ask Carmilla question, but she beat him to it.

“Why am I different?” she asks quietly, the question aimed at herself more so than Liam.

“I don’t know” he replies solemnly. “But, I do know what you need” he grins, unzipping his backpack and revealing a plastic bag, a red blur hidden inside.

Carmilla’s animal like instincts kick in and her previous thoughts vanish as Liam throws the bag to her, snatching the bag midair. Ripping open the bag with ease, the mere scent of the meat drives her crazy. When she messily bites into the flesh a moan escapes her mouth, driving her to bite more and more staining the sheets with the juices from the meat. The hunger inside her begins to slow down and Liam moves to get up from the chair.

“It is important that you turn tonight Carmilla, your wound will be nearly fully healed if you do” he states, strolling over to the door. Carmilla licks her lips, leaning down against the headboard just as she tosses the ripped bag to the floor.

“Thank you” she mumbles, knowing Liam could hear her. A warm tug pulls at his lips but he doesn’t turn around instead he opens the door, letting in an impatient Laura.

“She’s all yours” He grins, laughing lightly when Laura practically shoves him out the way.

Laura hugs Carmilla tight. So tight she forgets the hell around her, only remembering Laura. Her smell, her touch, her eyes; everything that gives her hope that maybe, just maybe, it will all be worth it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wedding chapter next!!! Hope you are enjoying the story so far <3


	7. Can You Hear the Bells?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is realllyyy long so I hope you enjoy!!!

The sun was creeping its way over the horizon, the orange paint spilling over the skies. This was their favourite time of day. When the only thing that mattered was the coolness of the air, the warm scent of coffee tickling at their senses and the view that many would kill over. They would know.

“Laf how many waffles you want?” JP called from inside the cabin. Lafontaine was pulled out of their own world, the piercing coldness of the wood beneath their feet forcing them back inside.

“I went hunting this morning I’m good” they replied, strolling into the small room sipping their coffee.

“More for me then” he grins, pouring the batter into the waffle maker. Lafontaine sighs, slumping into the grey couch. It had been around two weeks since they last saw Carmilla and they were starting to worry; since their last encounter actually went quite well they were expecting a lot more contact. They smile at the memory, replaying it smugly in their mind.

 

**_2 WEEKS EARILER_ **

****

“I’ll be fine” Carmilla repeats for the third time, smiling into her phone. “Seriously cupcake stop worrying I can walk myself home.”

“You just got stabbed and expect me to just let you leave the hospital by yourself?” she playfully scoffs in reply.

“Laura. You were called to work I think that means that they actually _need_ you there” Carmilla chuckles.

“But Carm” Laura whines, “What if you trip over a rock and you end up paralyzed on the floor”

“I’ll be sure to look out for suspicious looking grey pebbles”

“ _Carm_ ” Laura pouts, knowing full well that somehow Carmilla could sense it.

“Don’t pout at me you know that’s just cruel,” Laura smiles warmly on the other end. “Listen I’ll be fine alright? I’m gonna grab some food on the way home”

“Do you even have money?” Laura laughs lightly, slightly worried as to what her fiancée might do.

“No but I’ll figure something out” she smirks.

“Carmilla I swear if you-“

“Bye cupcake, love you” Carmilla interjects quickly, removing the phone from ear and chuckling when the sound of Laura repeating ‘no’ over and over shouts from the phone speaker. Slipping the phone back in her pocket she pushes herself off the wall of the hospital, taking a deep breath of the late afternoon air. She really couldn’t express how happy she was she had Laura; how she was separate from this mess she had tangled herself into. Laura was in her own little world, their world, where nothing could touch them or at least, Carmilla wouldn’t let anything touch them.

 

The forest sat tauntingly close to her on the other side of the road, and she could feel her insides crawl with excitement but she repressed it, instead dragging feet parallel to the trees heading down the street to a local diner. She can eat there. Just as she began her reluctant trek a familiar scent glided past her nose – wolf.

“Shit” she grunts, her eyes quickly scanning for an escape. A dip in the line of the buildings gets her sprinting and relief instantly rushes through her body as her back falls hard against the wall, her ears instinctively trained on the sound of the man exiting the hospital.

“You were right she’s here” the man’s voice said, the grayness of his words coming through. He was old and from the familiarity from the voice, she guessed him to be her doctor. “Yes I am glad your words rang true, expect a reward for your loyalty in the future,” a mix of fear and anger sparked in her veins, making her edge closer to the end of the wall, trying to focus on the sound of the person he was talking with on the phone. She gently closed her eyes, letting her mind solely focus on the sound; the entire world fell from her grasp like sand from her hands. The voices became clearer, letting her make out that the _man_ on the other line was young.

“Listen I appreciate what you are doing and that you understand what this means for us but I _specifically_ asked for her to be brought to me _alive_ ” his words became deeper and rougher, a sense of authority shining through them. “I would hate to see what would happen if you disobeyed me again” said the doctor going back to usual tone. Carmilla was becoming increasingly intrigued by the conversation and started to growl when the voices started to become fainter, he was walking away.

“God damn it” she grumbles, pushing herself from the wall and surveying the alley. With the issue of time nagging over her shoulder and wanting to not be seen she refrains from risking it to the forest, she decides to focus on the alley, plotting out a path up the wall. A shake of her head in disbelief and quiet ‘fuck it’ push her to jump onto the garbage container, her eyes snapping upwards and spotting an extrusion in the wall; someone’s lame attempt of a garden in an apartment complex. She reaches for the ledge digging her fingers in the dirt, surprising herself when she pulls the strength to haul herself up, using momentum to desperately grab hold of a hole where a brick should be. As she does with her one hand on an iron hold to the edge her body sways forward, bumping into a protruding edge of a brick, which sends a devastating pain to her wound. Carmilla yelps, shutting her eyes tight as a couple painful tears drip from her eyelashes but she holds on; trying with all her might to push it aside. Resting her foot on the makeshift garden ledge she pushes powerfully, gathering enough height to latch onto the top of the building. With a proud grin she finally gets on top of the building, her feet immediately loving the feeling of a ground beneath her once more. Her eyes drift to the side and catch sight of her target. He was still there.

“Gotcha” she smirks, crouching down and staying a couple paces behind, ensuring she was in earshot range.

“… What are we going to do about her?” his voiced was hushed, a sense of worry etched in the words.

“I would expect what we always do sir” the other man replied. The older man stopped in his tracks causing Carmilla to abruptly stop herself, tripping slightly.

“And to think I saw much potential in you Theodore” he sighs, “It is clear that there is another choice we could use that would prove to be a _much_ better benefit.” Carmilla inched closer to the edge, almost to the point of falling off.

“Vordenberg… she’s not apart of this and the laws forbid us…” Theo said from the other line, worry woven into his tone. A sudden crack of thunder startles them both but Carmilla was too close to the edge, and immediate panic fractured her as her foot slipped, the gravel dancing from under her boots.

“Oh shit!” she hissed feeling the rush of air pile up against her face as her body falls forward, but a sudden tug on her shirt pulls her back to safety. Stumbling backwards and (almost) tumbling to the ground she manages to spin her gaze around, spotting a certain red headed person.

“Laf?” she pants, trying to contain the fact that she almost died. She then swiftly checks again behind her, seeing that Vordenberg was gone.

“You need to be a little careful there kitty” they chuckle, looking up to see grey soaked clouds covering their heads.

“Don’t call me that” Carmilla spits, the nickname stung at her skin as memories of her mother appeared in mind.

“Oh uh sorry dark and mysterious” Carmilla glares at them but they just shrug happily in response.

“What are you doing here?” she grunts, the rain starting to hit harder against both of them.

“I just saved you from a world of hurt and this is how I get treated? We really need to work on your manners” they snicker.

“ _Seriously_ red head I’m not exactly in the happiest mood”

“Alright, alright” they raise their hands up in surrender. “I was coming to visit you but as I was walking down I heard some pots breaking so I checked out the noise…” They explain.

“Damn I was hoping not to mess up those plants” Carmilla winces. Lafontaine gives her a puzzled look before continuing.

“So when I checked it out I saw a certain someone hauling themselves on top of a building, my curiosity got the best of me and I followed you up here and that leads me to…” Lafontaine looks at Carmilla expectantly with a wide smile on their face. Considering the fact that they did just save her from her own demise, she gives in with a deep sigh.

“Leads you to saving my ass yeah yeah I got that part” she grumbles. “Can we please get out of here I’m getting drenched” she scowls. The other person nods and lets Carmilla lead their way back the way she came, hoping to jump down on the garbage container and then to the ground. Just as they reached the edge of the building dipping into the alleyway, Lafontaine taps Carmilla’s shoulder.

“Make it quick red” she exhales, dragging her eyes over to the short red head in front of her. They scratch the back of their head nervously.

“Hey so I actually came to visit you to ask if you wanted to go hunting?” they ask hopefully, their eyes glistening in the rain. When Carmilla doesn’t immediately respond, they try again. “Also it will heal your wound a lot faster trust me.” They point to the side of her stomach and Carmilla softly growls back, not feeling comfortable with such an obvious weakness. A part of her was screaming yes, desperately wanting to feel the earth beneath their powerful paws but the rational part, the more methodical part, helped in evening out the decision.

“I was told the same thing by this doctor and he seems to be a pretty important wolf boy, probably of power or whatever. If he told me, then he could be expecting me to go out, he could have people out there.” The sky rumbles impatiently, wanting nothing more then to plow down on the people beneath it.

“We can be careful. I know you’re hungry, you’ve been severely injured, almost killed; you need to give your body what it wants.” As if on queue her stomach churns irritated inside of her and the new animalistic part of her mind whines louder. She couldn’t resist it for any longer.

“Fine” she huffs, her hair completely soaking wet now. “Let’s go.”

 

They make their way deep into the forest and Carmilla can’t help but subconsciously purr as they wove their way between the massive wooden giants. Lafontaine was strolling a few paces ahead and was glad to see her companion letting out a faintest of smiles that she knows to be rare. They eventually reach the river Lafontaine was leading them to, the one where they first met.

“Here?” Carmilla questions puzzled.

“Yeah, we can hide out scents in the mud and you still got your backpack here.” They explain, pointing to the same tree when they were last here.

“I never took my bag back here.” She replies matter-of-factly.

“I brought one here for you” they grin, reaching in the tree and revealing a black bag. It looked to be a lot cheaper then her own one at home.

“What?” she replies dumbfounded, shakily walking over and unzipping the bag, noticing mostly black clothes. Lafontaine laughs when Carmilla gives them a glare.

“Are you really gonna give me that look? You are literally wearing near all black right now” Lafontaine grins smugly. Carmilla looks over her outfit; black skinny jeans, a white shirt and a black leather jacket. She glares once more at Lafontaine, throwing the bag back into the tree.

“Why did you that? Put a bag of clothes for me here?” she asks, not doubting the idea that she might have gained a stalker.

“We take care of own” they reply simply. Nodding their head and walking past her, moving up to a more private area to change. This is probably not the best time to flash her. Carmilla remains standing still confused, but the beast inside hums approvingly. ‘Maybe they deserve a chance’.

 

They ran for hours together. Carmilla was surprised to see Lafontaine turn before her, the animal greeted Carmilla before she had even taken her clothes off. Their fur was beautiful. A subtle red tinge to the usual orange coat added that sense of uniqueness, but she knew she could have easily identified who it was in heartbeat, their blues eyes were unmistakably the same. The leopard slowly approached Carmilla fearing that Carmilla may ditch them at any moment from being afraid or threatened, but much to their surprise, she stayed. Carmilla crouched down carefully and softly reached out her hand but the second Lafontaine realized Carmilla actually _was_ going to run with her a child-like excitement consumed her. The leopard eagerly met her hand, shutting her eyes contently and purring; Carmilla felt a strange warmth in her chest and it took her a while to realize what it was but eventually she did. The warmth was the moment she realized she wasn’t alone. But Lafontaine couldn’t hold their excitement for long and playfully pounced on the unsuspecting girl, tackling her to the ground which successfully sent them rolling down the slight slope and into the freezing water.

“Laf what the hell!” Carmilla snapped, jumping out of the ice-cold stream. It was still raining lightly. “Seriously?” said Carmilla, spitting out a mouthful of water. The leopard was pacing back and forth anxiously, the urge for adventure buzzing in their chest. Carmilla smirked when she saw how giddy Lafontaine was being.

“Alright piss off it’s my turn,” said Carmilla, trudging her way out of the mud to a semi-dry patch of grass. As she kicked her boots off her gaze lifted to see the leopard hadn’t moved.

“Laf. Go, I’ll be there in a sec” Lafontaine whined disapprovingly but managed to pull herself away, giving Carmilla the space she needed. In her daze Carmilla had forgotten how painful the process was although, it seemed to be lessoning each time she did it. The newly made panther shook the wetness from her fur and leisurely strolled up to where the leopard was waiting; the instant Lafontaine saw Carmilla curiosity coursed through them, giving them the strength to put their excitement to the side for a moment. Carmilla gave the benefit of the doubt, letting her proud body stand still for Lafontaine to inspect it, allowing the leopard to walking around her. Nearing its full circle, Lafontaine noticed the bleeding red scar on their friends stomach making them growl angrily. Carmilla whipped her head up surprised to see the sudden change in nature and quickly changed her position, so that she wasn’t as exposed. Lafontaine simple nodded their large head towards Carmilla stomach, letting out an encouraging roar to hype to the other animal up; it worked like a charm. Carmilla felt an intoxicating feeling strike through her paws and pair soon sprinted off into the forest, letting the primal urges guide them.

 

\---

 

“Laf, you there?” JP waved his hands in front of their face, forcing them out of their daze.

“Sorry what?” they reply lost.

“You zoned out a bit there,” he said softly, keeping in mind that they probably didn’t want any loud noises right now.

“Just a little” they chuckle, reaching for the now colder cup of coffee. “Why do you think Carmilla has been out of contact for so long? You think her and Laura are alright?”

“That’s what you’re thinking about?” he chuckles. He really shouldn’t be surprised at this point.

“What do you mean?” they answer puzzled, setting the coffee cup back down.

“I thought you were thinking what we were going to do about the guy tied up outside, you know, the one you beat and tied a tree.”

“I didn’t _beat_ him you know I don’t like that, I just slapped him around a bit” they defended. JP scoffed before shoving a mouthful of waffle into his mouth.

“You are ridiculous.” He laughs shaking his head lightly.

“Perhaps just the slightest.” They grin proudly back, “hurry up we need to interrogate that Theo guy.”

“Do we really? Can’t we just ‘slap him around’ a bit more and send that dog home?” JP sighs.

“No. You must have the noticed that something strange is going on, the wolves have been quiet for too long as if they’ve been told to hang back.” Lafontaine and JP both stiffened. “Something big is going down and we need to know what it is” they press, staring JP in the eye.

“I know” he replies sadly.

 

* * *

 

“Something amazingly big is going down today and you are doing nothing Carm” Laura whines.

“I know” she replies smugly, smiling widely while holding a cookie between her teeth, raising her eyebrows cheekily before chomping down.

“This is our _wedding day_ could you at least show some enthusiasm” Laura pouts and Carmilla finally gives in, sliding off the couch and standing directly in front of Laura. Her strong arms hold Laura’s shoulders softly.

“Laura. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been do you understand? I’m merely enjoying this joy” she grins, leaning forward and planting a quick kiss to the pouting lips in front of her. “And stop being over dramatic we are having the smallest wedding possible” Carmilla slips by Laura before she can swat her shoulder.

“And who’s fault is that?” she counters, quirking up an eye brow. Carmilla grabs her car keys from the kitchen bench.

“Proudly all mine” Carmilla winks, moving over to the doorway. “You wanna have some last minute fun before I’m forced to spend the rest of my life with you?”

“Oh you are too kind” Laura mocks, at first standing rooted to the spot.

“You seriously not coming?” Carmilla smirks.

“Nope, I’m getting ready for my _wedding day_ ” Carmilla grins and Laura’s eyes widened. She wouldn’t. “No, Carmilla don’t you dare” said Laura slowly backing away, trying to ignore the mischievous glint in her fiancées eye.

“I’ll do it if I have to Hollis” said Carmilla with such love it was as if she created the word.

“No, no Carm-“ It was too late. Carmilla took a deep breath, and then gave her best pout. The _please Laura_ pout. The pout only reserved for life or death situations.

“Please?” Laura was going to kill Carmilla. She even used the _please Laura_ voice; the one pulls at her heartstrings no matter what because it sounded like a wounded kitten who just needed anything and everything in the world.

“I hate you so much” she playfully scowls; poking Carmilla quickly in the chest as she adorably stomped through the door.

“Wow I feel bad for whoever ends up marrying you” Carmilla calls out after her, shutting the door.

“Carm I swear just get in the car before I force you to join a birthing class” Laura retorts not even looking behind her. Although she didn’t have to, Carmilla sprinted to catch up to her the second she finished her threat.

“Do not even joke about things like that” said the other woman sternly but her tone of seriousness disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving only a wide smile. Laura giggled in reply, letting Carmilla open the door for her (which she made sure to mock her for) and slide into the passenger seat. Carmilla soon sat in the drivers.

“So where are we heading? Because if we are late to the weddi-“

“We won’t be. I promise.” Carmilla abruptly interrupts. It was all Laura needed, because her nervousness dissipated in an instant.

“Okay.”

 

**

 

“You are such a sap.” Laura chuckles, marveling at the view in front of her.

“What? Am not” Carmilla shakes her head, once again getting out of the car and opening the door for Laura. She once again gets mocked for it.

“You took me to where we had our first date on our wedding day, I think that counts as the definition of being a sap.” Even though her tone was mocking, her heart had swelled to the size of a balloon.

“I’m not a sap, I just put good use to my memory” Carmilla defends, straightening her posture.

“Sure babe” she coos, grabbing Carmilla’s hand and leading her down the grass hill. The car was parked behind them on top of the hill, there was a path that led down but it was much faster to just carefully (and not idiotically) walk down the hill _but_ if you know someone like Laura – that can almost never happen. As the two were slowly making their decent Laura slipped on a rock, nearly sending her head first down the hill. Luckily, thanks to Carmilla’s heightened reflexes she almost instantly caught Laura, holding her hand tightly. With a suppressed giggle to herself knowing how much Laura hates being called clumsy (which she constantly assures _she is not_ ) Carmilla pulls her close and lifts her up, holding her in her arms.

“I thought we were meant to do this as we leave the church” Laura chuckles, holding on tightly to Carmilla.

“Well when it’s you, sometimes we have to make exceptions” Carmilla grins, earning a light tap to the back of her head. They reach the bottom of the hill with no more troubles even though Laura must of said a thousands times ‘I’ll be fine you can put me down’ but whenever Carmilla actually would make the effort to put her down Laura would conveniently come up with a distraction to force her to keep walking. They stand steadily on the now level ground and are finally given a proper chance to admire the view in from of them. It was a beautiful a crystal lake, trees lined the edges of the water as the sun crept up onto the sky. It was still early morning.

“Wow you just look at this and feel wonderful don’t you?” Laura asks, still staring out onto the lake. Carmilla turned to look at Laura.

“Yeah you really do,” she said softly. Laura’s caramel hair glistened in the sun light, a warm glow surrounding her face even more than it usually does. She originally came here with a purpose, with a plan, to say all the things to Laura she wants her to hear but not for an audience. Not for a piece of paper, not a man in white, but for her. But Laura tended to have a detrimental affect on Carmilla ever since they first met. It was at a petrol station, Carmilla’s car had broken down in the middle of the night and although then she wanted to murder everyone involved in making her car, she thanked whatever god there was that her car broke down, and let her meet a severely sugar deprived Laura. Carmilla remembers grumpily storming through the glass doors and dropping the carton full of petrol onto the counter but what Carmilla didn’t realize at the time, was that because of her tunnel-sight-I-hate-everyone vision was enabled, that there was another very grumpy woman already next to her.

“Uh hello?” the brunette scoffed, Carmilla didn’t even bother to turn towards her.

“How much is this” she grumbled to the store clerk who also was clearly exhausted and didn’t have the energy to pay attention to the probable near fight about to happen.

“Twenty dollars fifty” he replied drily. Carmilla groggily reached in her pocket pulling out her wallet and very messily searching it.

“Shit I only got a twenty, is that alright?”

“Twenty dollars fifty ma’am” he replied again monotone, it being practically a miracle that he was even still awake at this point.

“Come on please, my car broke down I’ve had to walk here for 3ks after a bloody martial arts tournament” Carmilla pleaded but it was to no avail because the man in front of her kept his very _very_ tired gaze.

“Ma’am” he says sternly, trying to wake himself up.

“Yeah?” Carmilla responds hopefully.

“Twenty dollars fifty.” Carmilla is quite literally about jump over the bunch, smash the glass and strangle the innocent man before the brunette that she had completely forgotten about, spoke up.

“Here, I’ve got a fifty” Laura piped up, handing the man the silver coin. He took it without a second thought, leaving Carmilla with her mouth-hung agape. Laura then gently shuffles Carmilla aside and paid for her own things – those being a worryingly amount of cookies. She then looked to Carmilla, gave her a small smile and went off on her way. It was that smile left her trying to find that woman for months and when she finally gave up, when she wasn’t expecting it, there was Laura at the exact same petrol shop three months later buying another pile of cookies at six in the morning. She got her number then.

 

“Hey cupcake?” Carmilla said softly, her breath catching when Laura turns to face her.

“Hey” she smiles back.

“You know I love you right? No matter what happens, no matter what changes, I’ll always love you.” She stares into Laura’s eyes, trying to find something but she has no clue what.

“I know. I love you too, no matter what happens” she grins back, her gaze flicking to her Carmilla’s lips.

“No matter what” she mutters, her eyes closing.

“No matter what” Laura mumbles back, closing the gap. They lean in for a deep kiss as the sun smiles above them. Carmilla wanted this moment to last longer than life itself, Laura thought it would.

 

* * *

 

“JP you ready?” Lafontaine called from the kitchen, washing the last of the dishes.

“Yeah, yeah I’m coming” he calls from another room; soon they hear a sudden parade of steps run through the tiny cabin. JP stood now proudly in the centre of the room.

“What you think huh? Do I look menacing enough?” He pointed to his outfit, black jeans, white shirt and a leather jacket. It reminded them of the exact person they were looking to find.

“You look greaser enough let’s go.” They nod, shoving JP through the door, earning them a quick glare. The pair of almost sibling’s strides out together, strolling confidently over to the front of the cabin; a disheveled man tied to a tree staring back at them.

“Morning Theo” said Lafontaine nonchalantly walking up to him. He was wearing a ripped black shirt and jeans, a red bruise swelling on his right eye. He grunts in response, the duct tap refusing him access to words.

“Oh sorry did you want to say something?” said JP sarcastically, leaning forward and ripping the tape off harshly. Theo spat to the ground.

“Fuck you” he growled, his voice deep and rough.

“Very original” Lafontaine commented, taking a few steps forward and making sure to keep constant eye contact. “Now, it’s time to talk and I suggest, for your sake, you answer my questions.”

“I’m not telling you anything” he bites leaning forward, his back still constricted to the tree. Lafontaine laughs in response.

“Listen, I know more about your kind then you do. I know what would kill you in an instant and also what would lead to a _very_ slow and painful death” they muttered harshly. JP looked to Lafontaine nervously, he hated when they became like this; it reminded him of the times before they had both settled down, right at the start that everything went wrong. Lafontaine was strong, they protected him like their own growing up, like they were like a well and true family – in most ways they were. But both of them had lost everything and learned quickly that to survive in war you had to do things that you would think you’d never ever have to do, and that the choices you were forced to make you had to push to the furthest of your mind. Lafontaine is the one of the most amazing people JP was lucky enough to meet but he’d seen them do ‘what they had to do’; they both promised to never do that again.

“So…” Lafontaine continued, “Tell me what you dogs have been planning.” Theo growled at the words, the hairs on his neck sticking up. But he didn’t say anything, instead barring his teeth angrily. It was clear the irritation was growing inside Lafontaine so JP quickly intervened.

“We know where Vordenberg is staying,” he said strongly, trying to disguise the lie, “If you don’t speak, we’ll be forced to take action.” A small breath of relief escaped his mouth when he saw Theo’s eyes widen. This time he actually replied.

“You’re lying,” said Theo, his voice slightly trembling.

“How many people know his name?” Lafontaine smirked, playing along. “Tell me Theo, did you even know his name till say I don’t know, _two weeks ago?_ ”

“You’re a fucking lia-“ his words were cut off when a pair of powerful hands gripped his throat, a red headed person inches from his face.

“Tell me what you are planning for the panther or tomorrow, I’m bringing you Vordenberg’s head on a plate” they snapped digging their nails deeper into his tanned skin. The prisoner’s face started turning red his lungs desperately clutching onto every bit of air, his options were wearing thin so he flicked his eye’s to the British accented man, JP he thinks, knowing he seemed to be much more put off by this than the other one. It worked.

“Laf let go he’s not worth it,” he said lightly, not wanting to upset them even more. But their hand didn’t move and Theo’s sight was beginning blur, the buzzing growing louder in his head.

“Laf.” He repeated louder, now stepping forward. They didn’t stop. “Laf!” he roared, forcefully grabbing Lafontaine shoulders and shoving them away from the helpless man. They stumbled backwards, panting heavily as they watched Theo gasp for air his chest rapidly bouncing up and down. JP moved to stand in front them, whispering angrily in their ear.

“You need to calm down,” he scolded.

“He knows what’s going down and we need to know” they defended, unable to make eye contact. Their hands ached to finish the job.

“This isn’t you. He’ll tell us you’ve clearly made sure of that,” he muttered bitterly spinning back around. JP hesitantly paced back over to Theo, leaving the person behind him to stand painfully still.

“Tell me what you know or I’ll let my friend come back over here.” He said, crouching down, his voice being uncomfortably calm. Theo managed to take a deep breath, evening out his others but once again, he said nothing.

“Theo,” JP sighs, “There’s nothing else you can do” He said softly. It was the final push, because the bruised man finally answered.

“It’s too late anyway” he sneered sinisterly. “Let’s just say a white dress is about to be covered in red”.

“The hell you talking about?” JP scoffed. He spun his head around, noticing Lafontaine’s eyes were widening.

“Oh my god” they breathed.

“What?” JP snaps.

“The wedding”

 

* * *

 

They say nothing can ever be perfect, that there will always be some flaw, some tiny little dent that will ruin an otherwise smooth tile. Most often then not, Carmilla believed this quite truly, knowing it to be true from the experiences that clawed at her while she grew up, except there was this one exception. Today was that exception to this rule that perfect isn’t real, because today was perfect; today was the day Carmilla was going to marry the only person in the world that she could never say no too – and nothing could ruin that. Or so she thought.

“You ready Karnstein?” Danny nudged Carmilla, who was rocking nervously back and forth on her heels, waiting patiently for Laura to walk through the church doors. Carmilla was a usually stoic person, rarely letting her emotions shine through but right now she was failing miserably, the obvious nervousness and excitement radiating off her. The bride’s eyes were trying hard to stare forward, using all of her will power to not spin around sprint out the doors.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” she breathes anxiously, a small smile flashing across her face.

“Yeah you in a dress, I honestly never thought I’d see the day” Danny smirks earning a playful slap on the shoulder which was a lot softer than her usual ones. Danny chuckles in return, looking out to the surprisingly empty amount of queues. It wasn’t really that empty, but it was a large church with not many people (most of them being Laura’s friends and family). On the left side, Mattie was sitting at the front, a proud never-ending grin on her face making Carmilla blush slightly when she gave a quick peak around her. On the right side also sat quite a few of her work colleges, her child-hood best friend Ell who flew in only a couple days ago even though they hadn’t seen each other in three years, and her dad. On the left side there were around as twice as many people. Lot’s of Laura’s work friends (even though Carmilla had to half the amount of people Laura wanted to invite), one of _her_ child-hood best friend standing at the front who she spends way too much time stealing freshly made cookies from, Perry (who was her maid of honour), as well as Laura’s grandparents. Carmilla took a deep breath and turned to the front. ‘Come on Karnstein you can do this’ she mutters to herself, patting down her dress. She was wearing a strapless wedding dress, it wasn’t very ‘poofy’ even if Laura had quite literally _begged_ Carmilla for it to be, but smooth and shiny, a white corset hugged her chest with a woolen-laced flower design decorating it. After spending two hours on her hair to try and get _just_ the right amount of curviness and an exceedingly long time delicately placing tiny flowers into her hair, it was complete. And by god she looked stunning; or at least that was what Laura thought when she finally opened the large oak doors, that classic wedding music gracing her ears. The second their eyes locked it was as if the world stood still and everyone had disappeared leaving only them. Carmilla honestly nearly fainted at the sight of Laura, her large wedding gown taking up nearly the entire path as she slowly made her way towards her. Laura’s cheeks flushed pink and she ducked her head when she saw how Carmilla was practically drooling over her.

“Broods, girl up you look like a drooling dog,” Danny whispered assertively, tapping her on the shoulder. Luckily for her own sake, this grabbed Carmilla’s attention. So she readjusted herself, straightened her back, looked into Laura’s hazel eyes and smiled widely.

 

***

“JP run faster!” Lafontaine panted, their feet growing numb from running for so long. The shaggy haired man grunted in response.

“I’m running as fast as I bloody can and, why are you shouting are me? Do you even know where we’re going?”

“I have her scent we can’t be far” they shouted back, their senses on edge ready to change direction at anytime.

“Oh okay then” JP over-dramatically rolled his eyes, “I _specifically_ remember you saying that when we wounded up at that lake and oh! They weren’t there!” he snaps back. Lafontaine was tempted to stop, turn around and punch JP right in the face but they figured it probably wouldn’t end too well, and waste too much time. Ignoring their thoughts of anger they once again focused on the panthers scent, it was nearly untraceable and was incredibly faint ‘she must have had her ring on’ they thought to themselves. Suddenly Lafontaine halted to a stop, which JP of cause, fell right into having being caught completely off guard.

“JP are you kidding me?!” They hissed, shoving him off and instantly jumping to their feet, JP doing the same.

“Shut up and just tell me why you stopped” he replied irritated. Lafontaine sighs, pulling their hand through their short red hair.

“I can smell her, very faintly, but the closer we get the more I smell wolf” they spoke shakily, their mind already jumping to the worst possible scenarios.

“You think they got to her already?” JP questioned, waiting patiently when there wasn’t an immediate reply.

“We won’t let that happen.”

 

***

 

Laura’s father James, reluctantly let go of her, letting her walk over to her soon-to-be-wife.

“Take care of her,” said James with trembling lips, obviously showing that he was about to cry. Carmilla nodded back, holding back her own. The music stopped, and they turned to face each other, each of them slowly pulling up their veils.

“We are gathered here today, to celebrate the union of these two women… “ The priest spoke loudly, his deep voice bouncing off the church walls. Carmilla couldn’t help it when she drowned his words out, the only thing she noticed being the love in Laura’s eyes. The sparkle, the spark, knowing that this was it _this_ is the moment that they had been waiting for. Laura could feel the tears threatening to spill, a part of her wanted to let them free because this was the happiest she had ever been… she had never cried of happiness before. She lost her grip and a couple tears fell, a shaky smile accompanying them; Carmilla couldn’t help but let out a tear too. This was the moment she dreamed of, the moment she thought of every time her mind brought her back to that dark place; it was this moment, this absolutely perfect moment that she had been craving. And it was perfect, until it all went to hell.

 

The doors snapped open, smashing into the wall from sheer force from the push. Everyone jumped, their heads whipping around, trying to see where the deafening sound had come from. The sudden light from the front drifted away and an elderly man waltzed into the room, nine men and women following close behind him. Carmilla’s blood ran cold.

“I’m sorry sir but this is a private function” the priest instructed, pointing back towards broken doors.

“Oh I know” Vodenberg answered calmly, “We are, what do you call it, friends of the family.”

“Get out” Liam shouted, standing from his seat. The other people in the queues gasped, swiftly looking to one another to see if any of them had known what was going on. Mattie’s heart stopped when she saw who had crashed the wedding. She couldn’t be seen, it would ruin her cover and destroy her chance of protecting Carmilla and keeping _her_ undercover. She scanned the building; the only way she would get out would be if there was a distraction. Unable to actually cause any attention herself, she stayed very still and prayed that no one would see her.

“Now, now Mark that is no way to speak to an old friend” he grinned; flicking his hand at the people behind him, making them spread out and form a horizontal line at the front. “You know why we are here, so make this quick and everything will return to normal” Liam flinched at the words.

“Get out of here” he growled, feeling the adrenaline starting to prepare him for a fight. The priest looked between them confused, before finally stepping in.

“Listen sir I’m going to have to ask you to leave or I’ll call the police” he explained, not wanting to provoke him.

“Oh of course I understand” he said sympathetically, turning around towards the door. But as he walked back he stopped, spun on his feet and returned to his old position. “Just one more thing” he smirked, speedily reaching into his pocket pulling out a dagger, and throwing into the priest’s head. The blade hit the bone with a terrifying crack, blood splattering onto Laura’s dress. Then everyone lost it. The whole of mass people sprinted for the one main entrance, ditching their belongings in a mess of screams and violence, the once family and friends shoving each other side to try and make it to the exit first. Vodenberg chuckled before looking over to his people, giving them a nod and turning around to finally leave.

“Bring me at least one of them.” He ordered. The nine of them nodded in response and went to work, aggressively smashing their way to the crowd sending many to the ground.

“What the hell is happening?” Laura panted, stepping backwards. Carmilla immediately grabbed her hand, clutching tightly.

“Laura I need you to stay near me and Liam okay? Do not run away stay in my sight” her words were harsh, the fury and anger inside of her becoming more and more intense by the second.

“What?” Laura snapped confused. “Do you… Do you know these people?” Vodenberg’s soldiers were getting closer, slowly closing in on them. Liam had taken one down but three had ganged up on him, it was obvious he was trying to contain his wolf; there were too many humans.

“They’re the gang that attacked me” she stammered, trying to be as honest as she could with Laura.

“Are you kidding me?” Laura pulled her hand out of Carmilla’s gasp as if her skin were fire. “I thought you said it was unrelated?” she scoffed.

“It is!” Carmilla bit back, regretting it instantly. “Laura just, this is _not_ the time okay?”

“CARMILLA!” Lafontaine yelled, her voice clanging against the walls. JP ran into the church close behind them, instantly jumping into the fight.

“Laf protect Laura!” Carmilla roared back, not at all taken back that Lafontaine had somehow found her. Carmilla turned to face Laura, seeing the mix of fear and anger on her face. “I’m sorry” she whispered, kissing her deeply (which Laura reluctantly leaned into) before letting her go and running up to Lafontaine.

“Laf I don’t know what’s going but I need you to-“

“The wolves have been planning this, they found out about Laura and saw that as weakness, an opportunity” Lafontaine abruptly interrupted, startling Carmilla.

“How did you know?” said Carmilla puzzled. Lafontaine’s eyes widened.

“Duck!” they shouted, not close enough to push Carmilla out the way.

“What?”

“I said du-“ A bat suddenly collided with the back of Carmilla’s skull, smashing her to the ground. The world spun in a daze as her body slumped to the ground, the only sound being the screams that she would guess to be Laura and Lafontaine. Soon she heard another thud and a man’s body fell next to her, his face covered in blood. Carmilla tried to ignore the pain, using her weak arms to push herself up but it was too much, because a tidal wave of sickness hit her, and then she fell limp back to the ground. There was no more sound, just silence.

 

\---

 

Her eyes flickered back open, a piercing headache clawing at her skull. She managed to push herself up, noticing she was still in the same place she was when she was hit unconscious. Her sight dragged around the room, a yellow haze blurring the images. The church was a mess, there were bodies scattered around the red carpet, blood seeping into the floor while others were sticking up from the ground; a piece of wood from the broken queues poking out from their chests. Her feet wobbled as she stood up the change of position being too quick as they went numb but before she could hit the ground once more, a pair of strong arms caught her.

“You’re awake” Liam panted, lifting her up so Carmilla could stand in front of him. Carmilla’s jaw dropped when she saw him. His face was badly bruised, blood splattered all over his face, his own and others.

“Holy shit, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I’ll be fine” his voice was surprisingly solemn, confusing Carmilla. Shouldn’t he be happy? It looked like they won… wait.

“Where’s Laura?” said Carmilla, spinning her head around and ignoring the intense pain. She wasn’t anywhere in sight, panic began to take over.

“She’s…”

“She’s where! Where is she!” she roars, her eyes flaring up in rage.

“She was taken.” Liam said softly. Carmilla almost threw up.

“By who?” Carmilla snaps.

“You know who” Liam said softly once more. Carmilla’s footing faltered. She had lost the only thing she cared about so much it hurt, the only person who she would give the world for… she lost her.

“Where do I find him.” She growled coldly.

“Carmilla” Liam sighed, “You can’t go after him it’s what he wants you to d-”

“Then it’s what I’ll do.” Liam stared at her in disbelief, he had never seen her this angry before not even when she first turned.

“Carmilla… you must be careful” he advised.

“Oh you bet I will” she grinned, giving a cold smile that didn’t meet her eye’s, “I’m going to be so careful when I find him. When I kill everyone who stands in my god damn way.”

“Carmilla stop. You can’t do this”

“I am.”

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this and make sure to share it around if you do! The more likes n comments the quicker the chapters come out! (also i love you all regardless <3)


	8. Shadow Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shit gets a lil intense

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!!! There is a bit of gore and violence in this chapter! If you don't feel comfortable with this stuff please take caution when reading and be sure to skip the parts with it!!!

“Sir is this really a good idea?” Will whispered, not wanting to wake the prisoner in the cage beside him.

“This is the only way and you know it, this will be a sure guarantee to test her” Vodenberg hissed back. “Where’s you’re faith William?”

“Always with you sir, but what if it doesn’t work?” he pressed.

“Then we make sure it does.” A quiet grumble from the cage startled both of them. Vodenberg gave Will a stern look, before softening his gaze to Laura. Her eyes slowly flicked open, wincing when she lifted her head too fast.

“Careful my dear, sometimes the drugs can make things a little hazy” he chuckled, crouching down to be eye level with the girl. Her brow furrowed in confusion, her blurred sight revealing that she wasn’t in the church.

“Where… where am I?” she asked sluggishly, her words sounding foreign.

“Now I would love to tell you that but due to the certain circumstances, I can’t” he smirks; now standing back up. “Are you hungry?”

“Wait I… I saw you at the church, you were there…” Laura mumbled, shutting her eyes as if to replay the memory in her head. “Yes you were there… you were…” her gaze lifted upwards, staring into her capturers own, “You crashed the wedding?”

“Yes I am sorry about that, but we needed Carmilla” he explained; He then turned to Will, giving him a small nod. Will left the two alone, heading off to grab the girl some food.

“Carmilla? You… you were the one that hurt her?” her eyes widened in realization, making her instincts kick in which sent her scurrying to the back of the cage. The old man simply sighed, looking to the floor.

“Laura I would prefer if you made this easier and smoother…” his voice changed from the usual softness, authority and coldness now replacing what was there. Laura tried pushing further into the back of the cage, the metal bars pressing into her skin. Her mouth stayed shut but the rest of her was wide open; her senses were in over-drive trying to pick up any smells to indicate where she was, surveying the room for an escape and checking her own self for any injuries. Vodenberg noticed the girl scanning the room then proceeding to look at her own self.

“You haven’t been injured” he interrupted, Laura’s eyes snapped up. “I made sure of that.”

“You expecting a thank you?”

“No, of course not. You see you are in a very special place right now Laura, no one here by law can kill you. But, in saying that, in one word you could be dead. If you play nice, you’ll be enjoying yourself until Carmilla get’s here but…” his eyes turned cold. “But if you don’t, we’re going to have a problem.” Laura held his iron gaze, refusing to back down. Instead of giving what he wanted, she spat to the dusty cement ground, not taking her eyes off him.

“You won’t get away with this” she sneered.

“I applaud you for your bravery Laura” he replied after a while. “But you will come around. They always do, if you’re lucky enough you’ll get to see Carmilla one last time before you’re torn to shreds.” She could feel her throat closing up, the reality of the situation stinging at her. Vodenberg gives one last nod before proceeding to leave the stone walled room, slamming the metal door behind him. All Laura could hear from then on was her heart pounding in her ears.

 

**_4 DAYS LATER_ **

****

Her painfully empty stomach growled annoyed once more. God was she hungry. She hadn’t eaten three days, the first day she didn’t eat out of spite as well as the second but Laura couldn’t hold off for long, so on the third day she gave in. She had started to notice and go by the routine, when the sun was just touching the bottom of the window as it crept up, the young man with well-maintained black hair would come in the room with food. He would throw in a couple insults but she didn’t give him the satisfaction of a reply. Except on the third day, when she finally went to reach for the food, the man instantly retracted his hand. He let out a wide grin that he’d been holding in for days, he was really glad the girl finally gave in. Then he left the room, taking the food try with him.

Laura pulled her aching body up from the cold floor, her back slowly getting used to sleeping on the hard stone. She took a deep breath; the sun was creeping up the edge of window. Within seconds Will waltzed into the room, a slight pep in his step.

“What’s got you in a good mood?” Laura scoffed, lazily leaning against the metal bars. A sinister smile appeared on his lips; Laura instantly sensed that this wasn’t good. Her body stiffened, now straightening up against the metal.

“Well _today_ I’m finally allowed to talk to you” he grinned.

“You’ve talked to me for days…” she responded warily. Will laughed lightly.

“No, No” he chuckled. “I mean _talk._ ” When Laura still gave him a puzzled look, he reached his hand into his back pocket pulling out a thin blade. Her body jumped up as she scrambled to her feet.

“What are you going to do with that” she tried and failed to attempt to make her voice sound strong and not afraid. He took a few paces forward, pressing his face between the bars. Then he let out that same nightmare smile.

“I’m gonna talk to you.”

 

\---

 

The sunrise was actually quite beautiful. Well, at least Carmilla thought it was. But she didn’t get time to appreciate it, her mind was on another goal, another person. She lifted her phone out of her hoodie pocket, once again checking that she was heading to the right place. She had already caused trouble for going to the wrong place and stirring things up but she doesn’t really feel _that_ responsible; it’s not her fault she made a slight typo with ‘meat’ and ‘meet’. Because of that unfortunate incident that ensued there at ‘Meat and Greet’ Carmilla was banned from pursing any further investigations on Laura’s kidnapping case and even then, she wasn’t meant to be there in the first place. She felt something for that, for some reason Mattie gave her the benefit of the doubt but it was clear she was too emotional for the case, too close. But right now she wasn’t so much as emotional but emotionless… she had already killed three wolves (she refused to think of them as people).

Carmilla turned the corner, a grin tugging at her lips when a large sign came into view. In faded red letters were ‘Meet and Greet’, the sign itself being a chipped green. Her paced quickened as she jogged up towards the door.

“Morning lads” she smirked, strolling through the dark pine wood doors. A couple hangover heads drifted her way, muttering nonsense and going back to their own selves. But one of them froze. She sniffed the air to make sure; it was mostly stale beer and cigarettes except for the slightest, smallest hint of wolf. The man in question was sitting at the bar, fidgeting nervously on his stool. Carmilla had made sure to get the message out, that she was looking for blood; and damn was it easy to do.

On the night Laura was taken she went into the forest and spent hours trying to pick up the scent of wolf, to pick any reminder that one of those disgusting creatures had been there. After three hours of sprinting around, the tiredness starting to pull at her, that now dream-like scent washed over her nose, making the exhaustion she was feeling dissipate in seconds. She found a wolf bar that night. There were about thirty of them in there, talking about their lives, drinking beer with grins and smiles – it looked so normal… so real. Twelve of them made it out of the bar, the rest beaten so bad you couldn’t tell who they were. Six of them made it fully out, she needed someone to deliver the message. However when Carmilla goes back on that memory it’s as if its not there, she knows what she had done was unforgivable. After all, she hurt innocent people, people who were just there; she abused them. For Laura. ‘For Laura’ she muttered in her head.

Carmilla plopped herself next to trembling man next to her.

“Morning” said Carmilla cheerfully. The man gulped in response. His hair was shaved, only leaving a tiny amount of volume left on the top. He looked to be around her age, he was fit and muscular – definitely douche bag material.

“Are you going to say good morning back?”

“I don’t have anything to do with it” he interjects quickly. His eyes meet hers and she feels some of that anger drift away; he looked genuinely scared, a real fear.

“You’re a wolf aren’t you?” Carmilla questions. Leaning forward slightly on the stool, he uneasily nods back at her.

“Then why wouldn’t you have anything to do with it?” she presses.

“I-I’m new, I was-“ he stopped his sentence, scanning the room wearily, “I was _bitten_ a year ago” he whispers. “I haven’t earned too much trust in the ranks, I’m still _low_ in the ranks.”

“Interesting…” Carmilla grins, directing her attention towards the bartender and not him. The young man visibly relaxes, his shoulders slumping down. He actually thinks he was going to be left alone for the rest of the morning until a strong pair of arms grips him by his collar, and shoves him up against the wall.

“I’ll kill you in a heart beat you know that right?” she grunts, her grip tightening as the man struggles against her. “Who are you!”

“Kirsch! M-My name is Kirsch, please!” He raises his hands up in surrender. “Don’t do anything I’m about to get married please I can’t lose her.” _I can’t lose her._ Her hands slack, eventually letting him go. Taking a couple steps back her gaze doesn’t falter, burning into Kirsch, waiting for him to straighten himself up.

“You’re engaged?” Carmilla questions, her voice still fierce.

“Yes! Yes, here see-“ he shows her the ring on his finger. “Please just don’t kill me, I can help you”

“How?” she immediately snaps.

“I-I’ve heard rumors, rumors of a new hide out that the Alpha’s using” his words stumble over each other, trying to get out as fast as they can.

“A rumor?” she scoffs, shaking her head.

“It’s reliable!” he defends. He really didn’t want to die. Carmilla took a deep breath. Could she just let him go? It could be seen as a weakness, that her strength is failing which it _definitely_ isn’t. No, she was going to have to kill him but this time she might actually feel something.

“What’s the rumor?” he bites his tongue on his immediate answer.

“I’ll show you.”

“Where is it?”

“I’ll take you there.”

“Where!” she snaps, running up and shoving again against the wall, her elbow pressing into his neck. “I’ll kill you right now if you don’t fucking tell me where she is I’ll ri-“

“Karnstein!” Danny yells. Carmilla whips her head around in surprise.

“Danny?” she mumbles confused.

“Danny!” Kirsch sighs relieved, now able to push Carmilla as she had completely relaxed her grip.

“What are you doing here?” Carmilla asked puzzled. The anger was clearly evident on Danny’s face.

“What do you think _you’re_ doing here?” she snapped back. “Also, what the hell do you think you’re doing with my fiancé?” Carmilla’s eyes widened.

“Wait, you’re-“

“Engaged. Yeah. And it looks like you just tried to kill him.” Carmilla scoffed in response.

“I wasn’t going to actually kill him”

“Really?” Kirsch interrupts, feeling sudden confidence that Danny was with him. “Cause it didn’t look like that to me.” Carmilla’s glare hardened, making Kirsch cower behind his fiancée.

“What are you doing here Karnstein” Danny sighed. Carmilla’s gaze fell to the floor. ‘ _For Laura’_.

“Laura.” Carmilla replied softly. Danny internally slapped herself. _‘Of course it was Laura.’_

“Karnstein… I know this is hard for you right now but you can’t go starting fights, it doesn’t help anyone” Carmilla’s fist clenched at Danny’s words. How could she know? Know what it’s like to have the only pure thing left in this word ripped away for you and drowned in your own evils? Being the cause of hurt to the only thing you never want anything to touch? Thankfully, Kirsch stepped in before any punches were thrown.

“It’s okay babe, I understand, I don’t know what I’d do if I lose you” he smiled reassuringly. Danny looked to him, clear unease on her face.

“Are you sure? Cause it looked like she was going to kill you” said Danny, causing Carmilla to roll her eyes.

“Seriously, it’s fine.” He planted a quick peck to her lips before looking back to Carmilla. “Anyway I think she just wanted my _help_ ” he accented hard on the last word, trying to subtly communicate with Carmilla. Out of pure dumb luck Carmilla actually understood the extremely vague clue, and nodded back to the couple.

“I’m sorry Danny, to be honest I didn’t even know you had a boyfriend” she smirked.

“That’s what I like about you Karnstein, You don’t ask questions.” Danny gave one last nod before spinning on her boots and heading for the door. When she went to leave and the hand she was holding wasn’t moving with her, she stopped and turned back around.

“You coming?”

“I just need a minute to talk to Carmilla” Danny eyed the two of them suspiciously.

“I won’t touch him I swear” Carmilla defended, raising her hands. After lingering for a couple seconds more, she finally gave in and went to wait outside. Carmilla’s smile morphed into a thin line. Kirsch spoke first.

“Now listen-“

“Tell me what I want to know.” Carmilla bites, walking towards him. To her surprise, he stands his ground.

“You can’t touch me.” He growls in response, making a couple of the patrons lift their gaze. Honestly Carmilla was more surprised that they haven’t even been kicked out yet.

“Not here I can’t,” she grunted back. When he doesn’t respond, instead trying to seem strong, Carmilla was at her breaking point.

“Listen frat boy I don’t care about you alright, you can be dead or alive for all I care. I’m not here for me, I’m here for Laura. I don’t give a shit about me, I only care about-“

“Her…” he finished. Carmilla blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill.

“Yeah.” A silence fell over both of them. It wasn’t deafening but at the same time it wasn’t comfortable. It was more just _there_ , there were no words that were needed but there was something that was; they needed hope. Carmilla stood there, realizing that he wasn’t actually going to say anything. _‘On to the next lead then’_ she thought, giving one last glare to Kirsch before angrily bumping past him. Kirsch’s mind was fighting a war within itself, there were too many options, outcomes, decisions, everything depended on the decision made now; one decision changed everything.

“Fuck it” he mumbled to himself, “Carmilla!” he called, catching her just as she opened the door. Her head instantly snapped towards him, a wide grin on her face.

“Let’s go” Kirsch sighed.

 

\---

 

She refused to let him drive, even if he kept insisting that this wasn’t a trap of some kind. She didn’t believe him, deciding to let her paranoia run free through her. She forced them to run, Carmilla making sure to also be near him and never let him do anything other then lead her to her destination.

“I’m not gonna do anything you know that right?” he panted breathless. He flicked his head around, seeing Carmilla smirk but not say anything. At least it seemed like she was warming up to him and not be hell-bent on killing him but on the other hand, he also was feeling less inclined to kill her (if he tried hard enough). Eventually, a large building came into their view, a university. Their paced slowed as they jogged up to a sign; in wide white letters were the words ‘Silas University’.

“This it?” Carmilla asks, holding back her grin when she saw Kirsch was doubled over panting.

“Yeah” he breathed breathless. “How are you not on the ground dying right now?” he chuckles in disbelief, shaking his head at her.

“Purpose.” She replies coldly. He swallows the lump in his throat and pulls himself up. Kirsch waits expectantly for Carmilla to move, although it hurt his pride to let her make the decisions sacrificing his ego for his life would have to do. But the woman didn’t move, instead she still, her charcoal infused hair swaying in the light breeze.

“Are we going to move?” he questions nervously. Carmilla keeps her stare trained on the university.

“Do you want me to move?” she counters.

“What?” Carmilla’s head snaps around, locking on to him as her hairs stood on end.

“I’m not an idiot. How do I know you haven’t led me to a trap? To an ambush?” she spat harshly.

“I’m not lying” he defends, taking a few steps back as Carmilla takes a few forward.

“How do I know?” The rational part of her brain was fading, leaving only the instinct to protect. To kill.

“Danny.” He answers strongly, now standing his ground “I love Danny and by the looks of it, you’re the mystery partner she complains all the time about.” Carmilla’s footing faltered, freezing her. Kirsch sighs sadly. In all honesty he hated what was happening right now. He hated what his kind was doing to Carmilla; he has no idea why all that’s happening was going on. He was new, still seen as a ‘pup’, not ready for the true traditions and ways of the lands. He was bitten right after his rugby game; his team had actually done extremely well and won the match by a long shot, which always made him smile. He loved making his team proud. As he walked home that night one of his team mates, Will, caught up with him ranting all this gibberish about traditions and expectations. Kirsch waved him off, dismissing him as drunk and continued on his walk home not even bothering to look behind. That was his mistake, because soon he heard an eerily low growl, a maroon and black shaggy wolf snarling behind him. Will showed him the ropes, saying all these things about honour, so of course Kirsch believed him and followed him – but now his faith was wavering.

“Carmilla. Trust me this is it” Kirsch pleads. The woman eyes him wearily for a while before eventually giving in.

“Fine” she huffs. “Lead the way wolf boy.” Kirsch holds back his smile, instead turning on his feet and slowly strolling off towards the campus. Kirsch stays a couple paces ahead while Carmilla trails behind, just in case it was indeed a trap.

“It’s going to be dark soon you know. Could you quicken your pace?” Kirsch puffs annoyed.

“I can see in the dark” she scoffs in response.

“Ha I’m _sure_ , you know just because you’re all this doesn’t mea-“ his speech was cut off as gut-retching scream echoed throughout the campus, crashing through halls and ringing in their ears. Carmilla’s eyes widen in fear, panic and anger blurring her mind.

“Laura!” she belts, sprinting from her spot and following the continuous sounds of screaming and anguish.

“Carmilla wait! It could be a trap!” his words didn’t reach her.

 

\---

 

The burning metal stick pierced into her swollen skin was more. She tried to hold back her cries but failed, the deafening sound bouncing off the stone basement walls. Laura tugged on her chains, her hands struggling from being held to the walls; her wrists were rubbed red raw from pulling. One of the men laughed, pulling the poker from her stomach and sticking it back into a barrel of water with a loud hiss. Vodenberg sat contently in the corner, watching her carefully. Night was creeping upon them, making everyone more restless than usual… it was meant to be a full moon tonight. He once again glanced through the barred window anxiously before returning his gaze towards the brunette. If he was lucky, Carmilla would find them tonight and the trigger would work.

“Stop! Please!” Laura whimpered, hot tears rolling down her cheeks, ignoring the dry ones that were already there. Her words only seemed to rile them up even more. The man who was using the poker looked behind him and eyed the woman standing excitedly in the back. He gave her nod and she couldn’t hold back her squeal, skipping up towards the helpless woman.

“Please…” Laura begged her voice exhausted, the words scratching at her throat. The young woman only grinned in response, her hand gliding over a selection of knives on a near by table. The blades and scalpels glistened in the candlelight, the natural fading from the room.

“This is going to hurt a lot” she snickers picking up a red tinged scalpel, the old blood still dripping. Laura just closed her eyes, preparing for the pain. Her entire body was covered in scars now, bruises decorated her like paint splotches while the constant redness filled the rest; there wasn’t any clear skin left. The woman lifted the cold blade to her cheek, pressing lightly. Irritated that her prey wasn’t showing any signs of fear, the scalpel moved over to behind the brunette’s ear, slicing into the soft skin. The knife elicited a pained scream from Laura, sending the rest of the group into joyous shouts, encouraging the act. But the room fell silent when an intense slam of the door echoed in the room. The woman dropped the blade, which allowed Laura to let out a breath of relief.

“Carmilla” Vodnberg smiled, standing from the corner of the room and strolling towards the centre of the group. Carmilla’s heart plummeted when she saw Laura. When she saw _her_ Laura, chained to a wall covered in blood and cuts; it made her blood boil. The rage that consumed her was like no other. They hurt her. They hurt her for no reason, just for pleasure, just for _fun_. Her eyes were locked onto her.

“Carmilla” Vodenberg tried again. When Laura didn’t find the strength to pull her head up, Carmilla begrudgingly brought her attention over to the alpha.

“What have you done to her” she growled bitterly, clenching her fists.

“Oh don’t worry about that, just needed to entertain my friends while we awaited your presence” he waved her off calmly. “I’m glad you could finally make it.”

“You will pay for this” Carmilla hissed fiercely, her eye’s losing all mercy. “You’re fucking sick you know that? She didn’t even do anything!” she roared. Vodenberg didn’t say anything; instead he stood fixed to the cold floor. A soft whimper called Carmilla’s attention as Laura’s head raised incredibly delicately. Her face was coated in bruises, fresh red blood dripping from behind her ear.

“Carmilla?” she questions dazed. Just for a second, her anger disappeared.

“I’m here” Carmilla assured, concern laced into her voice. “I’m getting you out of here.”

“Are you real?”

“I am”

“Help me” she whines quietly, “Please, Carm.” Carmilla couldn’t make the rest of her pleas as she burst in tears, sobbing softly to herself. When Carmilla finally brought her sight back to the old man, he was smirking.

“I’m going to kill you” she bites, stepping forward into the dungeon-like room. _‘I’m so close’_ he thought to himself, ‘ _let’s see if you’re all you’re cracked up to be.’_

“Carmilla you have no need to, it’s you’re fault for getting involved with humans” he spoke calmly, enraging her even more. “You really should never bother with these flings”

“She is far more than that!” her voice thundered through the room. “She is so much more s-she’s... she’s…” Her mind was starting to blur. _‘What’s happening?’_ “She’s more than y-you… you’ll…” Carmilla shook her head, trying to rid her feelings of doubt. It felt like she was being stripped away, she knew what to say but the words wouldn’t come; it felt as if she had never even learnt them. She couldn’t think as she clasped her eyes shut tight, her hands pushing against her head. Everything was spinning so fast, nothing but spinning.

“Are you well?” Vodenberg inquired, trying to contain his excitement.

“I’m fine!” Carmilla snapped, but the blurring of her mind was growing more intense soon morphing in a devastating pain. Her ring started to burn and she hurriedly flung it across the room. It stung at her brain, clawing and ripping its way through each and every pathway. Carmilla crumpled to the ground, her hands still tightly stuck to her skull, trying to push the pain away. ‘ _Everything is spinning’._

“I d-don’t understand… I-I can’t-“ she forced her eyes opened to see a grinning Vodenberg. His smile was so evil it darkened the moonlight lit room. He crouched down, making sure to stay where he was with two of his men in front of him.

“I’m so glad it’s true Carmilla. I’ve been waiting so long for this you don’t even know,” the pain shot through her, making her scream. “You are very special, I mean, I had my hunches as to your origins but _this_ … this I thought was at a the furthest of my mind. Of course you know, I was hoping this was the reason but you know the unlikeness of that” he chuckled to himself as if oblivious to the whimpering woman in front of him.

“W-What the fuck are you s-saying” Carmilla choked out, her throat soon clasping back up. It was like she couldn’t breath, like she was starting to crave something else to live.

“Oh my apologies I sometimes ramble when I’m excited” He smiled. “You see, you are part of a very special line Carmilla. It’s very rare, considering the difficulties it takes to put in your position. You’re a shadow blood Carmilla, the blood of the old ones runs through you, empowers you. You see you can normally never tell if you have their blood, most of us have a small taste of this, bringing us together. But you, you’re mother and father were both half shadow bloods. Even if they didn’t know it, it was enough to bind you to the old ones pure power, pure… energy” he explained proudly. The words barely made it through to Carmilla hardly even processing, her mind and body felt like it was being stripped to the bare essentials. “You are about to experience something that an extreme few feel” Vodenberg encouraged. His people in the room looked to each other nervously. “Don’t fight it, the full moon is rising tonight, it will push you closer to it-“

“Who touched her?” said Carmilla, her voice dark. Unlike before, none of them were excited to admit their crimes. Laura finally managed to gather the strength to speak again, barely conscious.

“All of them” she mumbled. The pain bit her once more and she collapsed fully to the floor, screaming in agony. Vodenberg stood up, heading towards the wide open door; he easily walked passed the groaning girl.

“Don’t fight it” he muttered one last time, slamming the wooden door shut tight. The remaining people in the room looked to each other anxiously, none of them knew what was going on. Then, the man who was previously torturing Laura with the hot poker, stepped forward.

“We have to kill her,” he advised. The six others nodded hesitantly in agreement, directing their attention towards Carmilla. One of the men inched closer cautiously, freezing when Carmilla snapped her head up. Her eyes locked onto the sight of the full moon through the barred window; then the pain stopped. All the sounds that she could originally hear dissipated, only leaving the whisperings of the moon. The voices crawled into her mind, taking away the pain.

“Kill her!” One of the women shouted, pointing at Carmilla. The man who was closest took a deep breath and reached to the grab a knife from the small bench. Walking back over to stand over Carmilla’s frozen body, her entirety focused on the glowing moon. But just as he lifted the knife, about to strike down, Carmilla’s eyes turned black. It was a like a cloud, the originally brown orbs morphed into pure obsidian, leaving nothing but emptiness. He stood dumfounded at the display while Carmilla felt nearly entirely the opposite.

_‘Kill, kill, kill’_ the moon’s words echoed in her mind. Her soulless eyes locked onto his and she instantly snatched at his leg, pulling him down. She clambered over his body and snarled, lifting her hands to find the tips had extended into claws; sharp black nails reached outwards while her jaw had widened slightly, her fangs and teeth growing. Before the man could another word out her teeth clamped around his neck biting tightly, ripping out the bit of his flesh. He screamed in agony as the red liquid sprayed onto the floor, the rest of the group panicked, fill with anger and confusion. They all pounced on her as she licked her rest stained lips but they didn’t stand a chance. A woman lunged down at her and Carmilla stuck her hand up, going straight through the woman’s body and grabbing onto her heart; she snatched it out threw it to the floor.

It was a blood bath as she went from one to the next. Carmilla couldn’t feel a single ounce of herself within her body, she was empty; her only guide being the heat signatures her enhanced sight picked up. They weren’t people, they weren’t wolves, they weren’t anything… they were heat. And she craved it. Carmilla continued to rip through them, biting into jugulars, stabbing into necks with her fingers and tossing bitten hearts to the ground. Soon she was left standing in the moonlight, splashed in warm red blood; then her head turned to the human in the corner, the one on the wall. Laura saw the entire display. She’d never seen someone die before, let alone brutally ripped to shreds. The creature stalked up to the brunette, panting profusely as the need for the blood was growing.

“Carm… Carmilla it’s me” Laura begged but it was to no avail, Carmilla’s mind was so blurred she couldn’t understand words. Although as she reached her prey, inches from it’s face, she felt something. For the first time in what felt like eternity, she felt a feeling. _‘I know, I know, I know’_ her mind fought within itself. ‘ _Kill, no kill, know, I know, kill, no, no, no’_.

“Carmilla?” said Laura softly, noticing the confused look on her face. “Hello?”

“Kill!” she suddenly snapped, punching her fist straight into the wall. Laura yelped, the dust from the stone hitting her face.

“Carmilla it’s me, please, listen to my voice…” Laura couldn’t stop the tears that trickled down her face. “It’s me baby, please, come back…”

_‘I know you, no kill, don’t kill, don’t kill’_

“Baby…” Laura whimpered. She looked into her lover’s soulless eyes; Carmilla must of felt it because she looked back.

“No kill…” Carmilla whispered.

“No kill.” Laura smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so I do just wanna say I'm sorry for the delay. If any of you watch the 100 you'll understand (they killed off a VERY important character) so I've been an emotional wreck for a while. But, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'm sorry if my writing is a little off because of it! <3


	9. Betrayal and Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some fluff to say sorry for last chapter, build up for the big shit woop woop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was going to longer than it already is but considering that its long as shit now i figured I'd just upload it. i hope you guys enjoy and share with your mates if you did, i love you alllllll!!

‘ _No kill, no kill, no more kill.’_ The words played over and over in her mind, quieting the usual chaos. It was then that the human in front of her began to slowly appear, not in waves of heat, but in details of the actual woman; her gorgeous hazel eyes were the first things she noticed.

“No more kill” Carmilla mumbled. Laura let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding, a wave of relief washing over her as she saw the blackness that had infected Carmilla’s eyes fade away. Her fangs and teeth retracted to their usual size, her hands following in tow. They stood in silence; Carmilla’s self slowly beginning to return. After a few long moments, Laura broke the silence.

“Are you back?” she asked softly. Carmilla nodded absent-mindedly, her mind was turning back to it’s old self but a part of her hated every second of it – because she was forced to realize what she had done.

“I-I don’t know what happened” Carmilla said quietly, more to herself than Laura.

“It’s okay, could you lend me hand and get me down from here though?” she chuckled lightly, trying to lighten the mood. Carmilla’s head snapped up confused before laughing a little herself.

“Of course” she gave her a small smile, reaching up and easily pulling the metal clasps from the wall. Instant relief was felt when her hands were freed from the chains, she rubbed lightly at the redness around her wrists before looking up hesitantly to Carmilla.

“Can I… hug you?” Carmilla pushed the panic inside her down; she had to do what was best for Laura, especially considering what she just went through.

“Of course” she muttered warmly. Laura couldn’t help but grin and eagerly wrapped her arms around Carmilla, wincing instantly whilst trying not to let Carmilla see. She hugged back tightly, an uncontrollable grin spreading on her lips as she felt Laura’s touch once more. God she missed it.

“I thought I lost you” Carmilla whispered, holding back sobs.

“Me too.” Said Laura softly. They held on to each other as if the world was going to end, the loving touch being the only thing that could save them. Laura began to cry gently into her shoulder and Carmilla let her, clinging on tighter. As they held each other in a tight embrace, Carmilla’s eyes drifted towards Laura’s neck and that sickening urge crept up into her teeth.

“Get away!” Carmilla swiftly pushed Laura off her, jumping back several feet. “Stay away, stay away, don’t kill, don’t kill-“ Carmilla went on a ramble, mumbling the same words over and over.

Laura look at her confused, her brow furrowing. She fought back her instincts to come closer and instead stood where she was, allowing Carmilla time to come back to her.

“It’s okay, you’re okay” Laura cooed, keeping her tone low. “Everything’s okay.” Carmilla pulled the strength to meet Laura’s gaze, the second she did her mind started to soften, and the erratic thoughts drifting away. When Laura saw that Carmilla’s breathing had slowed, she tried again.

“What’s wrong?” she asked gently.

“Your neck I-“ she swallowed the lump in her throat. “The urge, I couldn’t”

“Okay. It’s okay” Laura offered her a small smile and was relieved when Carmilla returned it. Taking a deep breath Laura took a couple steps forward, stopping when she saw Carmilla flinch.

“Carm, who are these people?” Laura inquired hopefully, her hazel eyes glistening in the moonlight. The trembling woman looked up to her. There was no point in lying any longer.

“They were… werewolves,” Carmilla answered shyly.

“Wait, what?”

“Werewolves. My… father is one. Liam. There’s this long ancient rivalry between them and werecats or something, I’m caught in the middle of it.” Laura shook her head in disbelief, trying to fathom what she was hearing.

“You mean like, twilight stuff is going down?” Carmilla playfully growled at the words.

“This is not twilight. We have better standards then that” she gave her best deadpan look.

“I don’t know I reckon you kinda got that vibe. Do you spend your nights in a cabin with twelve other shirtless people?” Laura giggled, laughing a little harder when she a felt a soft hand swat her on the shoulder.

“Not twilight” Carmilla grumbled. Laura just kept laughing, making an effort to close her mouth and giving an exaggerated thumbs up, mouthing the words ‘sure’. It was crazy Carmilla thought, she had quite literally just ripped people throats out, the blood still dripping from her lips and yet here she was giggling with the love of her life. Their happiness didn’t last long, as soon the wooden door swung open again, Kirsch emerging into the room. Carmilla groaned.

“There you are!” he puffed, wiping the sweat of his brow. “Man you will not _believe_ how big this place is!” His line of sight drifted from the two women to the bodies littering the floor. His eyes widened, instinctively stepping back.

“Yeah sorry about that, I got a little mad” Carmilla explained off-handily. Kirsch looked at her with his jaw hung open, Laura couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.

“You… you did this?” A cold shiver ran up Carmilla’s spine. ‘ _I did this.’_

“Yeah.” Laura noticed Carmilla’s unease, the adrenaline that was pumping through her was fading away, and instead the pain was coming through. It was then that the light-headedness started to sink in.

“Hey Carm you mind if we…” Laura blinked a couple times, trying to hold back her exhaustion. “Can we uh go or-“ her eyes suddenly rolled back, her eyelids fluttering to a close as her body went limp. Carmilla instantly caught her, clutching tight and holding her up into her arms.

“We need to take her to a hospital” said Carmilla, obvious panic in her voice.

“You’ve just killed six people, you’re covered in their blood. Do you honestly want to take her to a hospital looking like that?” Kirsch reasoned. Carmilla bit back her sarcastic reply; unfortunately he was right, it would way too risky to just turn up at the hospital.

“Wait, what if you take her?” Her eyes visibly lit up as she walked over to him, stepping over one of the bodies.

“Me?”

“Yes.” Carmilla stood in front of him, carefully putting her arms out as a gesture for him to carry her. Even though every part of her was screaming to keep her close, she knew it would be too risky, hurting Laura in the long run.

“I’m not taking her, that’s way too risky for _me_ ” Kirsch took a step back. “You do it.”

“It’s too dangerous” she growled coldly. Kirsch shrunk under her death glare, his own sight drifting over to the pile of bodies behind her. There really was only one option. Reluctantly, he reached his hands out and let Carmilla carefully put Laura in his arms.

“Good choice” she smirked. “I’ll be staying close to you at all times, I’ll make sure no-one touches her”

“And me?” He arched an eyebrow. Carmilla shrugged in response, strolling on past him. He shook his head lightly to himself.

“The hell have I gotten myself into” he mumbled to himself.

“I heard that!” Carmilla called back. Kirsch couldn’t help the small grin that escaped his lips.

 

\---

 

Mattie checked her phone once more, fidgeting with the device between her fingers - she’d gotten one message and that alone was a sign that something was wrong. Mattie was set to be in charge of the police in the Silas area, it was scarily easy to be pushed to the top considering the carefully placed leader rolls throughout the city. Vodenberg had built the town from the dirt upwards, placing the royalty in high-class roles as to ensure the race’s secrecy and control.

“Everything will be fine” Mattie assured herself, taking a deep breath and dropping the phone back on her desk. She was tenser than usual, she hadn’t seen Carmilla in days and she assumed that was because she moved her off Laura’s kidnapping case. A pang stabbed at her heart at the situation. Mattie knew exactly what was happening but couldn’t say a word. _‘Why did I have to like that black haired brat so much?’_

A loud knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts.

“Come in.” She said firmly, falling back to her usual authoritative self. Vodenberg’s lackey Will, emerged into the room. Mattie immediately stiffened.

“Captain” Will greets.

“Will” she responds curtly, nodding at the door that Will politely closes. Moving forward, he moves to sit in the chair in front of her desk.

“Vodenberg sends his apologies that he couldn’t make it here in person. Some recent knowledge has come up that prevents him from returning here.”

“Oh?” Mattie tries to hide the fear etched in her voice. Luckily, Will doesn’t notice.

“It turns out his most recent interest, Carmilla, works here as a detective. He doesn’t want to rouse suspicions at this new sudden opportunity.” Although Will was simply stating facts, Mattie could sense the threat in his tone. “Would you care to explain why we weren’t notified of this?”

“I didn’t think it was relevant” she stated matter-of-factly, “Also don’t forget who I am. I didn’t notify _Vodenberg_ because I didn’t see the justification in it but I do apologize if _he_ would actually find pleasure in knowing.” Mattie growled, making Will tense up.

“Of course. Sorry ma’am” Will backtracked, glancing embarrassingly at the floor. Mattie smirked before continuing.

“So what did Vodenberg want to see me about? His message didn’t describe any details, only that he wanted to talk.”

“It’s about Carmilla” said Will strongly, dismissing his previous nervousness. Mattie nodded as an indication to let him continue, he stayed much more in line now that he was reminded how powerful Mattie actually was. “Since you are Carmilla’s trusted captain, she would do whatever you told her to do correct?” Will questioned.

“Within a certain extent, yes” Mattie responded cautiously.

“Then if you were to get her to come to a certain place at a certain time but under the illusion of a work problem, it could be done?”

“Possibly, Carmilla has a habit of doing things her own way” she reasoned, trying to get Will to dismiss the idea. It didn’t work.

“That’s a yes then?” Mattie didn’t reply but Will knew what the answer was. Now with a small grin, he went on.

“Vodenberg also needs you become closer with Carmilla, make sure she stays on our side. She’s having too many negative experiences with our kind; we fear the leopards will take this opportunity upon themselves-” A high pitched ping from her phone stopped him in his tracks. He was about to continue when Mattie raised her hand, signaling him to stop; he did. Picking up her phone she glanced at her email, seeing the newest one that had just arrived.

_DECTIVE HOLLENCE: Captain, you told me to notify you when Carmilla returned. She is here. She just entered the precinct._

“She’s here.”

“Who?” Will asked puzzled. Matte merely stared him dead in the eye and he soon understood. Nodding, he moved to get up from the chair and head for the door but just before he left, his hand hovered above the doorknob.

“Tomorrow night. At the Alchemy Gardens, Carmilla must be there.” She nodded in reply and Will finally left the small room, allowing Mattie to take a breath of relief.

“Shit” she mumbled to herself.

 

 

Lafontaine crept silently through the grass, making sure to keep their lean, muscular back low. Then they stopped, their paws frozen as the deer lifted its head, scanning the trees around it. The leopard stilled, minimizing all movements while patiently waiting for it’s prey to return to munching on the patch of grass, giving them the opportunity to finally claim their prize. The sun sparkled through the trees and the deer eventually went back to its original goal, not noticing the hungry leopard lying stealthily in the grass. Lafontaine then sneakily paced forward, closing in on its target to get within pouncing range.

_Snap._

Their powerful jaws clamped around the helpless deer’s neck, digging in deep and snapping the fragile bones. If a leopard could grin, they did, proceeding to drag the deer’s body up a nearby tree to happily chomp on throughout the rest of the day. As the red-tinged leopard began dragging its body towards the trunk of the tree, the snapping of the twig captured their attention causing Lafontaine to hesitantly drop the deer’s neck down. Soon the creator of the sound waltzed into their view; Lafontaine growled.

“Calm down I’m not here to fight, if I was you’d be dead already” the young woman smirked, stepping out from behind one of the trees. Lafontaine eyed her wearily, the hairs on their neck sticking up on end. The young woman with tanned light brown skin strode in proudly, her natural black hair let to hang loose, making sure to be tucked neatly behind her ear.

“Lafontaine, I come here in peace even if in any other circumstance I wouldn’t be” her facial expression turned cold but the leopard stood their ground, daring not to move forward or backwards. But Lafontaine relaxed slightly, it seemed like its intruder didn’t mean much harm.

“Thank you” the woman grinned. “We need to talk, now.” She ordered. Lafontaine huffed bitterly but relented, they speedily jumped into a nearby bush and let the change take them. As their bones cracked and morphed, the woman started to speak again.

“Now I’ve come here on important business as you would have guessed. Being completely honest when I heard of your whereabouts I was tempted to send out someone to… finish this problem.” Lafontaine groaned, standing up and being quite taken back when they found their clothes being thrown at them. They caught them out of instinct, eyeing the other woman questionably. She shrugged in response, turning around as Lafontaine chucked on her (slightly) dirty clothes.

“So, if you’re not here to kill me why are you here?” they grinned, stepping out of the bushes and in front of the woman.

“I’m here to talk, I’m sure you’ve heard the rumours of the panther round these parts” the young woman failed to hide her excitement in her voice. “I’ve also been told that you have already contacted and developed a friendship with said panther so, I’m here to offer you a trade.”

“A trade?” Lafontaine scoffed.

“Yes.” The woman growled back, her authority shining through. Lafontaine tensed, weighing out their decisions internally.

“Mel there is nothing you could offer me, you’ve already taken away everything.”

“What if I gave it back?” Mel replied teasingly, watching in glee as Lafontaine eyes widened.

“What?”

“If you give me everything I need to know and get Carmilla to join us and not those bastard wolves… then you can come back. You won’t be forced on the run anymore, although it won’t be exactly how it was before but close enough.” Lafontaine could feel their heart crash inside their chest. They wouldn’t have to run anymore, they could be home, safe, not having to hide themselves and JP everyday. They could go back to focusing on their dreams; working to be a scientist again... they really missed it so much. How could they possibly say no?

“So, hypothetically, if I said yes…” Mel couldn’t hide her devilish smile, “what would I have to do?”

“Merely help your family out, we are still family Lafontaine. We always will be.”

“You’ve been trying to kill me for five years” they stated jokingly. Mel chuckled lightly in response.

“Indeed we have but that doesn’t have to be true any longer. We can look past your past mistakes If you are willing to make it up.”

“I am.”

\---

The pair walked backed to cabin in silence, the excitement seemingly radiating off Lafontaine in waves. They soon reached the small wooden construction and Lafontaine grinned widely when JP swung open the door before they could even knock.

“Hey Laf how was your-“ JP dropped the mug of coffee he was holding, his fighting instincts kicked into overdrive. Lafontaine’s smile instantly dropped and they quickly moved in front of Mel while gently grabbing a hold of JP’s fists.

“Hey, hey it’s fine. She’s just here to talk.” Lafontaine said soothingly, sighing a small breath of relief when JP lowered his fists. He uncomfortably nods, stepping aside and letting both of them walk through. The three of them made their way into the centre of the room, Lafontaine and Mel sitting on the clearly disheveled grey couch while JP sat nervously in a near-by chair. There was a moment of thick silence before Mel spoke first.

“JP I’ve come here to make an offer that affects both of you. In return of your help of getting the panther to join us, the kill order on you will be lifted and you will both be free to join back your family.” Mel explained, her voice strong and even. JP glanced anxiously at Mel, fidgeting with his fingers before aiming his uncertain gaze at Lafontaine, which they luckily got the subtle question.

“I think we should do this JP” they assured. “We could go back to our old lives, to our old dreams…”

“You don’t think she’s lying?” He abruptly interrupted, feeling no fear when Mel stiffened.

“She’s not. If she was, she wouldn’t have come here herself.” Said Lafontaine warningly. JP growled lightly at the discipline but listened nonetheless.

“So what do we need to do to earn this…” JP held his tongue when he saw the look Lafontaine was giving him. “…To earn this freedom.”

“We can start now” Mel asserted, falling back to her usual self. “Who is the panther? Their name?” JP and Lafontaine shared a nervous stare.

“Uh why don’t you ask her? We could arrange a meet up perhaps?” they suggested lightly, hoping not to offend their possible leader.

“No there’s no time, I’ve heard the wolves are already planning something soon, after the incident of last night nobody can stop talking about this, of what they _could do_ if it falls into their hands.” Mel stated starting to grow tired of this ‘calm and kind’ attitude she was being forced to put on. With a sigh, Lafontaine gave in.

“Her names Carmilla, Carmilla Karnstein. She’s a cop I think, comes along with a wildass temper that you better watch out for.” They both chuckled at that, “She lives in this apartment with-“

“By herself” JP hastily interjects. Lafontaine eyes him questioningly before continuing.

“She lives in an apartment with just herself.” Lafontaine growls slightly and in the corner of their eye they see him bow his head lightly in embarrassment. If Mel was suspicious of the interaction she hid it well, it seemed as if she hadn’t noticed at all. Instead she nodded, taking all the information in.

“Do you know her address?” Mel questioned. Lafontaine shifted uncomfortably in their seat.

“Uh why do you need to know that?”

“I’m not going to do anything Lafontaine. You know what our intentions are, you’ve been at the opposite end of it before” Mel reminded, her vice soft and gentle. “I have no intention of harming Carmilla, only that she remains safe with us and not with those wolves. God knows what they would do.” Said Mel, making JP scoff in reply.

“We’ve been five years out of the loop because of you, how do we know your intentions haven’t changed?”

“JP” Lafontaine warned.

“No, it’s fine. Our intentions have remained the same JP, same since you were kid like the rest of us. Now thank you for hospitality, I’ll keep in contact.” Mel nodded before standing up and strolling towards the door, ignoring whatever JP whispered under his breath. Just as Mel was about to leave her hand held her at the door.

“I ask that you find out when the wolves planning to take her. I doubt they would let her come voluntarily,” she ordered, then disappearing as if she was never there. An awkward silence strangled them both, like an invisible ocean forcing it’s way down their throats. What happens now?

“Are… are we doing this?”

“I think so”

“Is it safe?”

“It should be”

“What about Laura?” Lafontaine finally looked JP in the eye at that.

“No one will hurt Laura, no one will hurt them. This is for their safety.” Lafontaine sighed, smothering their face into their hands. “We need to talk to Liam, he’s the only wolf we know.”

“Laf I don’t like this, it’s too simple. You betrayed your own kind they wouldn’t just welcome you back with open arms like this-“

“I didn’t betray them!” Lafontaine snapped, instantly regretting their sudden change of tone. “I mean, you know I didn’t, I just chose my best friend over someone I didn’t know”

“You chose a human over your own kind” JP reminded gently. Lafontaine looked out of the nearby window, smiling as an image of orange curls graced their mind.

“I couldn’t let her die.”

 

***

 

Kirsch didn’t really know why he was still here. He had asked himself that exact same question on repeat for the past three hours as he waited patiently in the hospital chair, glancing up every now and again at the woman in front of him. He reasons that he’s still here because of how terrifying Carmilla would if she found out he left Laura _alone_ after being tortured. Yeah. That wouldn’t end too well. But the part of him that he is trying to deny is his slow growing attachment to Laura, if they were in any other circumstance he reckons they could be really good friends. Maybe he could.

“Who the hell are you?” a deep voice snaps him out of his daze, forcing him back to the current reality.

“Sorry?” he mumbles dazed, eyeing the large man in front of him. The realization that a large man was in the same room as _Laura_ and the fact that he was certain he could smell wolf sent his eyes ablaze, instantly raising his fists.

“I’ll fight you if I have to dude” he threatens, Laura’s still body being the only thing between Kirsch and other man.

“I could break your neck in a second kid. Now tell me why you are here or I’ll kill you” the other man sighed, clearly exhausted from whatever day he was having. _‘Honestly all I wanted to visit Laura and see if she was okay but of cause there just had to be something that went wrong_ ’ Liam thought to himself.

“I was sent here by Carmilla and no, I don’t where she is. So if you’re looking for her you can piss off” he defends, surprising himself at how protective he was being.

“Wait, you know Carmilla?” Liam asks confused, squinting his blue eyes.

“What’s it to you?”

“I’m her father.” Kirsch immediately drops his hands, his jaw dropped open.

“Oh” he replies sheepishly, reaching to scratch the back of his neck. “Right, Carmilla mentioned you may be visiting” he coughs awkwardly. Liam can’t help but laugh at the young man.

“It’s alright kid, its good to know that someone’s here for her” Liam smiles warmly. Kirsch then moves back to his seat, trying to fall back into that comfortable position (that too him way too long to find) while Liam remains standing. As Kirsch gets settled, Liam speaks again.

“I need ask a favour of you…”

“Kirsch.” He grins goofily.

“Kirsch…” Liam smiles, “I need you to find out what the alpha is up to. I’ve noticed the chatter, something is going down and I need to know what.”

“Oh you mean the big party tomorrow night?” Liam looked at Kirsch blankly.

“No I mean-”

“Yeah the massive party tomorrow night! Oh it’s going to crazy! It’s for like this shadow blood celebration or whatever, I’m bringing a keg you know!” Kirsch’s words were animated by his excitement, acting out each word with his hands. “Oh its going to legendary, all my bros are gonna be there you know” he grinned smugly. Liam blinked a couple times in disbelief at this kids intelligence before finally pulling himself together to speak again.

“Wait, you mentioned shadow blood?”

“Yeah, that’s what Will said anyway. Said it was really important, couldn’t miss it.” Liam moved to lean against the sky blue walls.

“Where is this party, I may go” he asked as nonchalantly as possible.

“It’s at the Alchemy gardens tomorrow night, can’t wait to see you there dude!” Kirsch exclaimed excited, jumping from his seat and walking around to pat Liam on the back. “See you later Papa” he joked, slipping out the room. Liam just shook his head, softening his gaze when his eyes landed on Laura. He moved closer, kneeling down and gripping tightly at her hand.

“Please don’t remember anything, please,” he whispered, his eyes shut tight. “Please don’t make me.”

 

***

 

Carmilla couldn’t sleep. Laura wasn’t in her arms even if she insisted that she was fine after being cleared; Carmilla couldn’t risk it. She already hurt her too much; she can’t risk adding anymore, she was safe away in that hospital. She tossed on her other side once more, probably for around the tenth time. Taking a deep breath she let her exhausted eyes close, watching the dimmed world around her darken to nothing. Nothing. That’s what she wanted, she wanted to see nothing, to fall into a dreamless sleep because at this point she wouldn’t even care that she didn’t get to see her dreams, she just wanted it to end.

But every time she tries her mind betrays her, giving her everything but nothing. It was that feeling, that emptiness that haunted her to her very bones; how could someone be so empty? How could you fall to a place where it’s like you’re looking at the world through a glass window, unable to interact? The worst part was she could remember every second of it, even if her mind was pushed far away to the very back of consciousness, she still remembered. She remembers the screams, the taste of their blood, the perfect amount of pressure that would rip into their skin and that craving. That never-ending craving for that red gold. The memories were burning at her skin until a soft tap at the door sent her nearly flying out the bed. She instantly sat up, reaching for the dagger underneath her pillow and flicking it out.

“Carm are you awake?” Laura whispered through the door. The panic instantly left her body, allowing her to slide the blade back under the pillow.

“Yeah, yeah I’m awake,” she grumbled, her voice exhausted. Soon a small brunette crept in through the dark, Carmilla could see everything clearly due to her enhanced vision but still she couldn’t help but giggle at the sight of Laura bumping into numerous objects. Eventually Laura reached the bed, happily collapsing onto the mattress.

“God I missed actual mattresses” she smiles, letting out a grateful hum.

“Laura” Carmilla chuckles, “I thought you were meant to stay in hospital.” Laura let’s her eyes close, not to sleep but to simply relax.

“Well I figured you would’ve been lonely so being my amazing self, I made my way over here!” There was so much pride in Laura’s voice it made Carmilla’s heart swell. Yeah she couldn’t argue any more.

“Fine” Carmilla huffs. “Come over here, if I’m so lonely then we can fix that problem.” With a wide grin Laura shuffled her way over, crawling over the covers to slide by Carmilla’s side but in their sudden closeness Carmilla was finally able to see the cuts and bruises on her face. Her smile was ripped away in a second and she immediately went to gently touch Laura’s cheek.

“Oh my god Laura” said Carmilla softly, her words barely audible.

“It’s fine Carm, they’re mostly shallow cuts just for display” Laura replied nonchalantly.

“Display?” Carmilla scoffed. Why would they make it look like they nearly killed her?

“Well I mean I think so. It did hurt like hell and they went deeper on stomach but most of it is just for show, I heard Vodenberg talk about a trigger or something.”

“A trigger? They made you look like this… to act like a trigger?” Carmilla questioned, growing tenser in each passing moment. There was a long pause before one of spoke.

“I, I think the trigger was for you… maybe to make you angry enough that you would turn into that… thing.” Laura spoke carefully, choosing her words as to be as delicate as possible; she’s not stupid enough to know that the attack still hurt her. There was another long pause, except this time Carmilla was first to speak.

“They hurt you so bad, I just couldn’t control it…”

“I know, It’s okay” Laura offered an encouraging smile and Carmilla couldn’t help but melt in her gaze. She didn’t have the strength to smile back, instead bringing her hand and resting on Laura’s cheek once more; Laura leaned into the touch.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I wanted to, I wanted to _so_ bad, but there’s this stupid law that forbids it. You… you could be killed for knowing.” Carmilla took a shaky breath, “I need you to play dumb in front of my dad and anyone you don’t know, please, I can’t lose you, not again I just-“

“Okay.” Said Laura softly. “I’m pissed that I didn’t know but I love you Carm, I can push my stubbornness aside for that.”

“I think that’s nearly impossible” Carmilla smirked, earning a light swat on the shoulder. Laura tried to hide her chuckle and failed, snorting goofily; she was glad to find that Carmilla finally smiled back. Feeling like she had achieved her goal she slid off the bed, ignoring the annoyed whine behind her. Waltzing over to the wardrobe she eagerly hopped out of her dirty clothes and changed into her PJs, reveling in the softness of her dark grey sweat pants. But as she headed back to bed, sliding on a white tank top, she stopped in her tracks.

“Is something wrong?” Carmilla asked concerned, sitting up nervously.

“So are you a werewolf?” Laura questioned, quirking up an eyebrow.

“Wait what?”

“Are you a werewolf?” she repeated, pronouncing each word tauntingly slow.

“I’m not deaf I can hear you” Carmilla sassed back.

“Could’ve fooled me.” Carmilla sighed, shaking her head with a light chuckle.

“I’m not a wolf cupcake, I’m a panther.” Laura could sense the pride in her partner’s voice.

“A panther? So… you’re like a big black cat then?” At that, Laura erupted into fit of giggles, laughing even harder when she would look at Carmilla and see her nose bunched up grumpily.

“I’m not a cat, I’m a panther” Carmilla muttered. Laura kept laughing, although now she tried to control her breathing. With a couple lingering chuckles, she managed to stop laughing and instead, her eyes lit up in excitement.

“Can I… can I see you as a cat?” she asked hesitantly. Carmilla’s entire body froze.

“You want to see me as…”

“A panther.” Laura finished, obviously trying to contain her giddiness. Laura kept silent, letting Carmilla decide. A part of her still felt the need to hide her animal part of her, the ancient primal urges of protecting her kinds secrecy. But the other part, the part that loved Laura with all her being, ached to show her and let her see her full self; no more secrets. With a deep breath and a shake of the head Carmilla slowly brought herself to the edge of the bed.

“I uh I may hurt you” she warned, even though she knew somehow deep down that that was impossible.

“I really doubt that.”

“I may get really hungry when I turn, hunger becomes a much stronger urge.”

“I can get some food for you.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

There was no way she was going to convince Laura otherwise. _‘May as well’_ Carmilla thought to her self, finally getting off the bed. Laura moved to wait where Carmilla was sitting, anxiously tapping the floor with her foot as Carmilla walked into the bathroom to turn. Standing in the centre of the tiled floor she let her eyes flutter closed, reaching inside to her animal self; it didn’t take long until she felt a stab of pain hit her stomach.

“God damnit” Carmilla grunted, falling to the floor and feeling the coldness of the white tiles prick at her skin. Hearing Carmilla distressed, Laura instantly stood up.

“Carm? You alright?”

“Yeah” she choked out, watching with a mix of fear and pride as her fingers were bending into paws. “This is part of the process don’t worry cutie” her voice was cut off as her back arched upwards, new bones forming. Laura reluctantly sat back down, flinching at every crack and snap that echoed into the room. Eventually the noises stopped, and there inside the bathroom, was a large black cat. Carmilla purred happily – she hadn’t turned in a long while. Suddenly the scent of human flooded her senses and she was reminded of where she was; God she really hated the feeling of the tiles. Carmilla poked her head out of the room shyly, keeping her large head down low.

“Oh my god…” Laura gasped, her hazel eyes transfixed on the shy beauty in front of her. The panther gradually made it’s way out of the room, cautiously approaching the familiar human. She could sense it, the scent of the human made Carmilla feel protective, an overwhelming instinct to keep her safe. _‘Keep her safe’_ was the only thought that went through her repressed mind. Laura noticed the panther’s hesitance, wanting to feel Carmilla’s fur in her fingers she slowly crouched down to become eye level with her. Thankfully it worked, Laura grinned widely when she saw the large cat fully exit the bathroom and instead slowly walk up towards her.

“It’s okay” she cooed, “You’re safe.” The panther gave her a confused look; she was starting to understand the words. Gently, Laura reached out her hand, not touching the panther but hanging in the air as if waiting for the panther to make the choice. Her large paws tapped on the wooden floor as she stepped towards the outstretched hand, rubbing her head against it. The sensation sent her purring, closing her large eyelids at the humans touch.

After another ten minutes of watching the big black cat in awe, Laura moved to go back to bed. Carmilla growled disapprovingly.

“Carm” Laura warned, surprised when it seemed that panther actually understood the warning. Laura proceeded to crawl into bed, greedily pulling the covers over her; but she still felt cold.

The panther was making its way towards the kitchen when it heard the humans call. Walking back towards her, she jumped onto the bed and snuggled up next to Laura. Resting her head over her paws, she let Laura hold her close for warmth and couldn’t stop the subconscious purr the rumbled deep in her belly. Laura smiled, nudging Carmilla slightly as an indication for her to roll on her side; she did as told. Then moving to rest her head on her soft stomach, they let their eyes close and fell into a deep slumber.                                                                                                                                    

 

***

 

The late afternoon sun glared from above, threatening to sizzle at their bare skin.

“I really don’t like this” JP sighed again. Lafontaine stopped walking, spinning on their feet to face him.

“You’ve made that clear but it doesn’t change anything.” JP shot them a glare before continuing on their trek. Lafontaine followed, lagging behind now.

“How do you know he’s even going to show up?” JP muttered bitterly.

“He will” Lafontaine breathes, “He’ll be there alright?”

 

***

 

Liam still doubted his decision. The only reason he was even here was because Lafontaine had gained Carmilla’s trust, hence that meant they had his; but he still didn’t know them. He pushed himself off the tree, needing a change in position. Glancing around he decided to just stand, kicking at his feet anxiously. Too many things could go wrong. Luckily for him, a red headed person snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Liam” they panted, shuffling to a stop. Liam gave a small smile that they returned.

“Lafontaine I’m glad you came, I was starting to worry that you wouldn’t show” said Liam sincerely, not wanting to offend.

“That’d be my fault wolfie, see I don’t trust you one bit so I kept us a bit late” JP grinned; Liam had to hold back his growl instead hardening his gaze at the boy. Lafontaine sighed before facing JP.

“Come on JP, do you want to help Carmilla or not?” they reasoned, clear exhaustion of the topic in their voice. There was a stubborn pause before JP spoke up.

“Yes” he mumbled quietly, staring at the dirt ground.

“So, are you going to do so?” Lafontaine continued.

“ _Yes_ ” JP sighed in defeat. Liam had to hide his smirk.

“Good” they grinned. “Then let’s get on with this Liam-“

“Whatever is going on, it’s going on tonight. There’s this celebration they are holding at the Alchemy Gardens, it’s big and I guarantee whatever is going down will go down there.” Liam interjected, his tone serious. Lafontaine and JP shared a glance, only looking away when Lafontaine nodded subtly.

“Alright. What’s the plan?” said Lafontaine, straightening their posture; JP did the same.

“There’s no plan, I’ll go and make sure nothing goes wrong. I’m wolf and can easily hide in the crowds,” he leaned in closer, hushing his voice to a whisper, “which you can’t.”

“Unlike you dogs we’ve evolve past that and have used our _intelligence_ to hide our scents” they growled defensively. The leopard and wolf’s gaze hardened as their eyes locked, the hairs on both necks standing; their stare down didn’t falter when JP coughed uncomfortably.

“The point is we can help, we care about Carmilla and Laura, we want to make sure they are both safe…” he looked to both of them pleadingly. “There is no need for this, sun down is soon and I don’t want to deal with more blood on my hands from a pathetic disagreement.” A low growled escaped both of their lips.

“Fine” Liam huffs, “just stay out of my way and everything will be fine.”

“Gladly,” they spat back. Liam lightly snarled before twisting on his feet and angrily storming off into the forest. When he was out of earshot, JP stepped in front of Lafontaine.

“What the hell Laf?” JP hissed, softly shoving his sibling backwards, “What’s up with you? I thought you trusted him?”

“I do,” they whispered harshly back. “Mel was watching I had to act tough.”

“What?” As if on queue, the tanned woman emerged from the trees striding proudly towards them. JP held his tongue, deciding to argue later on the matter.

“I don’t understand how you can even stand the presence of those wolves,” Mel laughed, not noticing JP and Lafontaine stiffen. “Well at least we now know where to go. Let’s go, we can regroup at Summers Den.”

“Seriously?” Lafontaine breathed, their eyes widening hopefully. Mel grinned back.

“You’ve proven that you mean to gain back our trust, it’s only fair I return the favour.” Lafontaine couldn’t hide her squeal of excitement. Mel nodded courteously and began to walk away, keeping to a slow pace to allow the newcomers to follow. Lafontaine practically jumped on JP when they turned around.

“We’re going home! We’re actually going back!” they marveled, an infectious wide smile on their face. JP couldn’t stop the smile that jumped onto him; he loved seeing Lafontaine happy. But he knew better, it was too easy.

“Yeah it’s great…” he said sheepishly, looking to grass as his smile faded. Lafontaine instantly caught on, the tug at their lips loosening.

“What?” they loosened their grip on his shoulders. He took a deep breath – he really didn’t want to destroy their sudden happiness but he couldn’t take the risks.

“Don’t you think… don’t you think it’s just too easy? I mean we just got back into contact with her and she’s already taking us back?” his heart instantly dropped at the sight of the betrayed look on their face. They pushed themselves away from him heatedly, throwing their arms in frustration.

“Come on JP, why do you have to ruin this one good thing?” they snapped.

“I’m not! I’m just saying! We’ve been on the run for so long we are _always_ careful, we can’t stop that now!”

“We need this JP! I-“ their voice cracked, their anger slipping away. “I need this.” Within a heart beat all the rage around them floated away, leaving only the emotions it was hiding.

“I know” he mumbled. Lafontaine let a deep breath, swiftly wiping their eyes and sprinting off to catch up with Mel. JP lingered a few seconds longer before joining them.

 

***

 

Carmilla let out an exasperated sigh, staring at the white numbers blinking from the screen.

“Come on, come on” she mumbled, watching the corner of the screen intently as she waited for the five to flick to a six. Excitement rang in her chest while her feet were bouncing up and down uncontrollably, _‘1 minute.’_ Carmilla was so transfixed onto the screen she almost didn’t hear Mattie call her from behind. Reluctantly, she spun around on her chair to face the captain’s office that sat at the end of the room.

“What up cap?” she yelled back, her heightened hearing letting her hear the sigh from the other room.

“My office.” She called back sternly. Her gaze flicked back to the screen to see it had indeed changed to a six. ‘ _Not that it mattered anymore.’_

“Coming” she grumbled, sluggishly slipping off the chair and strolling through the row of desks. When she made her way to the door she didn’t bother to knock.

“Sup Mattie” she grinned as she swung open the door, holding onto the handle and leaning forward.

“Captain” Mattie reminded, ignoring that pang of hurt in her chest. Carmilla nodded back as if she was actually going to listen.

“You need something?”

“I need to talk to you,” she answered seriously. Carmilla stopped leaning, allowing her legs to finally guide her into the room.

“About?” Carmilla inquired, tapping the door behind to close it. Mattie shifted uncomfortably in her seat, quickly looking over to the time. _’15 minutes.’_

“I understand you’ve been through a lot recently, I would like to discuss about you coming back to work here and any problems or concerns you have.”

“Okay…” said Carmilla slightly confused, sensing that something was wrong. As Carmilla went to pull out the seat in front of her Mattie instantly stood up.

“Not here” she said a little too quickly, earning a quirking up of Carmilla’s brow. “I know a better place to talk.” Carmilla just nodded back, swinging open up the door and holding it to the side.

“Ladies first” she gestured, smirking when she saw Mattie having to bite back her grin.

 

Mattie led Carmilla to the forest. She couldn’t deny the freedom that she felt knowing that Carmilla finally knew what she was, that she didn’t have to hide in complete secrecy anymore. Mattie was a wolf, a proud one, and a royal one. Their family ran back through the generations, luckily giving Mattie the opportunity to hide within the ranks, using the ring without a kill order above her head. She stayed a couple paces ahead, glancing back every now again to make sure Carmilla hadn’t run off, although there wasn’t point to it – she knew she wouldn’t leave. That was the problem really. This was the first time in a long time… that she was feeling guilt.

Because all in all, she was being forced to betray her sister. Either betray someone who she held close without knowing, or betray her own kind.

The sky was blurred orange in the sky, an artist’s dream dripping from the pink clouds. They were close; one last moment of trust left.

“Carmilla” said Mattie sincerely, stopping the other woman in her tracks immediately. _‘Why did she sound so sad?’_

“Yeah?” said Carmilla, jogging up to stand next to the stilled werewolf.

“There’s something you need to know” Mattie responded, her usually powerful voice now barely audible. Carmilla knew these moments to be rare.

“What’s wrong?” Carmilla interrupted concerned. Mattie merely shook her head and continued, refusing to meet her gaze.

“You are one of the biggest brats I’ve ever met yet in someway, I actually care about you,” a nostalgic chuckle filled the cold bitterness of the air with warmth. “You are a sister to me, you always will be. I know I won’t be to you but I need you to know that I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“The hell are you talking about?” said Carmilla, the panic becoming more and more evident in her voice. A tear of denial escaped her dark brown eyes, Mattie reached her hand out but Carmilla flinched.

“Tell me!” she eventually snapped, her patience wearing thin. Mattie sighed with a sad smile, lifting up her hand revealing a silver wring with a wolf symbol engraved elegantly into the silver. Carmilla stood dumbfounded, anger replacing her nervousness. At first she swatted the hand away, but upon a closer inspection she managed to connect the dots. It hit her like a tidal wave, sending her staggering backwards.

“You’re… you’re one of them…” Carmilla croaked, the now familiar feeling of betrayal sinking into her bones.

“I am. Your father got in contact with me when you wanted to be a cop, we made it that if you finished the academy you would end up with me. So I could keep you safe.” Mattie replied solemnly.

“I can’t fucking believe this” she scoffed, her voice becoming deeper and rougher. “And to think I trusted you, I fucking trusted you Mattie! You could have told me!”

“I couldn’t.” She answered quietly. Her words sent Carmilla’s blood to a boil, her feet dragging her closer and inches away from Mattie’s face before she could even register it.

“We are nothing. You are nothing. Not now, not ever. Don’t you ever try and change that.” Carmilla spat coldly but Mattie kept her face strong, her head still held high. “I’ll kill you if I have too.”

“Carmilla-“

“No!” she growled aggressively, shoving Mattie away from her. Her breaths were growing quick in between, snarls filling the silence through bared teeth. Mattie’s strong façade was beginning to break.

“Carmilla… you need to calm down” said Mattie warmly, only aggravating Carmilla even more.

“Calm down? Me calm down?” she bit back, her anger consuming her and refusing her to notice the black shadows emerging from the trees behind her.

“Please” Mattie begged, “I didn’t bring you here to tell you what I am, I brought you here for Vodenberg.”

“You fucking what?” The shadows that danced behind her were closing in; their dark blurs growing details.

“I had too! Listen, he’s powerful Carmilla, please just do what he says…”

“I would rather die,” she muttered heartlessly. _‘Then you will.’_

A menacing growl finally captured the panther’s attention, her head snapping towards the sound with nothing but rage. There were five men slowly stalking up to them, their backs hunched up and their sharp teeth gnashing fiercely. Mattie knew her time was up and decided with her last remaining seconds to at least spare her sister some of the pain. In one swift move the mighty werewolf snaked her hands around Carmilla’s neck, pulling her close to her chest and clamping down.

“Mattie what the hell?” Carmilla grunted, struggling to release herself from her astonishingly strong grip.

“I’m doing this for you” Mattie muttered back directly into her ear, “You’ll hate me now but thank me later.” Ignoring the grunts and snarls, Mattie reached into her black jacket pocket and pulled out a syringe, plunging into Carmilla’s neck without another a word. Slowly, her movements deteriorated, eventually stopping completely as her eyes rolled to the back of her head and fluttered to a close. Letting go of her chokehold, Mattie adjusted so that Carmilla was held in her arms. Then her stone-cold gaze fell to the wolves.

“She’ll be there. If any of you come near her I’ll rip out your throats and stick it down your mother’s own.”

They didn’t go near her after that.

 

They arrived as the sun disappeared from the sky, the moon glowing proudly in the beautiful contrast. As Mattie made her way into the clearing, spotting the pack of around twenty werewolves dancing around and drinking with their mates, it finally hit Mattie. _‘This is it.’_

One by one the men and woman noticed the limp body in her arms and an excited chatter grew in the crowd, infectiously jumping from one to another. She ignored whatever those dimwits were saying, instead staring at the bricked cement wall with chains attached to it – it was new. A growl escaped her lips before she could stop it.

“Matska!” Vodenberg grinned, clapping his hands together eagerly. The old man leisurely strolled up to her; Mattie clutched tighter to Carmilla.

“Vodenberg” she nodded, her tight grip somehow tightening even more. Thankfully he didn’t notice.

“I’m glad you could make it… being honest I was worried you weren’t going to show.”

“You have my loyalty Vodenberg.” She answered back, holding her tongue of any comments that dared to slip out. He smiled back before his eyes fell to the unconscious woman in Mattie’s arms.

“May I ask why our guest of honour is unconscious?” he asked curiously, as if not fazed by it at all.

“Saves time wouldn’t have to deal with your arrogant henchmen.”

“Oh don’t say that, you know they mean well” he waved her off, Mattie didn’t answer. After a brief pause, it was finally time.

“Bring her to the wall and we’ll begin the ceremony.”

“The ceremony? I thought you were just going to question her, get her to join us” her tone grew colder by the second.

“We are doing that Matska do not worry, it’s just we’ll be needing to do the first step to achieve that.” Said Vodenberg smoothly, not paying any attention to the tone of the woman next to him.

“What’s this ceremony, what are you planning?” The moment those words left her mouth, a devilish grin tugged at his lips.

“Tonight, for the first time in over a hundred years, we will be completing ‘The Blood Bond’” Mattie almost dropped Carmilla.

“S-she’s a real shadow blood?” her eyes widened at the news. This changed everything, her head was swirling and spinning – she needed to get Carmilla away if it was the last thing she did. Originally the plan was safe for Carmilla, for everyone, but if Vodenberg could manage to pull this off… he’ll be invincible.

“I tested it myself. She was the one that killed six of our people a few moons ago.” Her gazed snapped on to him.

“You said that was an attack from the cats in retaliation…”

“I lied.” He answered simply, not giving her the satisfaction of making eye contact.

“So you killed six of our own just for your own desires?” She snapped back, unable to hold back her frustration now.

“They knew what they were getting into-“

“Because no one even _believes_ in shadow bloods! They’re myths!” she hissed. Vodenberg sighed in reply before finally looking at her, his face unreadable.

“They chose to be there, I didn’t force anyone. There is no need for this hostility Matska.” Although his tone was calm, she could sense the obvious threat. Growling lightly she gave in, instead ditching Vodenberg’s infuriating presence and storming over to the wall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woo! i love making all these reference im such happy trash. if you want to talk about carmilla or really anything feel free to contact me on my tumblr url ur-the-puppy  
> ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU FOR ANY AND ALL SUPPORT! <3


	10. Bitten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shit hits the fan. seriously get ready

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this turned out a little too dark at some parts so i apologise for that but i really do hope you enjoy it! sorry it took a while to get out im the definition of lazy shit BUT this chapter is reallly long so i hope that makes up for it!

Her vision came back slowly, introducing itself in a mess of colours and blurred shapes. _‘This is becoming a bad habit’_ Carmilla grumbled to herself. As her sight returned, the reality of the situation she had found herself in kicked in as well. She was chained to a wall, wrist clasped to the walls as well as her ankles restricting any movement. She tugged at the metal, irritated that even with her incredibly strength the chains still held, digging in tightly into the stone cement wall her back was pressed upon. Lifting her eyes off herself Carmilla looked at the area around her, she was still in the forest that Mattie had led her too except now she was in deeper, standing uneasily in a small open field as if acting like a break from the cluttered trees.

And then there were the wolves. Well they were in their human states right now but she could smell them; it made her blood boil. It wasn’t completely the wolves’ fault though; more of a particular scent that right now would be enough to be a justifiable reason to go on a killing spree.

“Mattie” Carmilla growled, her words coming out more of a snarl than actual human speech.

“Carmilla you’re awake” Mattie sighed relieved, pushing her way through the front of the crowd that had gathered around her. “Are you alright?” she questioned concerned, stepping forward towards her.

“Fucking dandy” she spat, practically spitting on Mattie’s face. The softness on the dark toned woman’s features disappeared in an instant.

“Carmilla.” Mattie warned, the coldness in her voice not affecting the woman in front of her in the slightest.

“I’m sorry did I offend you? Wow, doesn’t it suck when someone you trust hurts you?” her words were meant to come off harsh but they broke near the end, clear hurt shining through. Her eyes glistened in the dimming light, the tears glossing at the surface; her sadness won over her anger, pained tears trickling down her cheeks. “Why? What did I do?”

“You didn’t do anything, I’m sorry I thought I was doing the right thing,” her gaze fell the grass, unable to look her sister in those hurt eyes. “I always do what’s best for my people, I was following the orders that I always do. I had no idea that that bastard Vordenberg was planning on doing this ancient ceremony tonight-”

“Then what did you think you were bringing me too?” Her voice was so fragile it managed to crack its way into Mattie’s heart. How this moment hurt more than a knife in her chest she would never know.

“To talk to Vordenberg, to meet us. We want you to join us, be part of the pack. I wanted you to be safe.”

“Then why didn’t you ask?” Carmilla croaked, her breath hitching as she tried not to cry. Mattie’s jaw dropped slightly, her eyes widening.

“You… you would have come if I asked?”

“Of course I would’ve you fucking idiot,” she laughed lightly, her eyes not leaving Mattie’s. “I trusted you, I trusted you so much.”

Mattie noticed the way she phrased the words. _Trusted_. She didn’t trust her, not anymore. It made sense, in all honesty if she found herself in the exact same position as her she would probably do the same thing but that didn’t stop Mattie from feeling immense pain. Could she really have avoided this? Would Carmilla have trusted her?

Thankfully, her hellish thoughts were interrupted by the certain old man who was the cause of all this. Within the second Carmilla ignored her emotions, putting any feelings of compassion and hurt to the furthest of her mind.

Mattie took a few steps pack respectively, “Vordenberg.”

“Matska.” He greeted, quickly diverting his attention to the pissed off woman chained in front of him. “Carmilla, I’m glad you’re awake.”

“Let me go and I won’t snap your neck” Carmilla growled.

“You know I can’t do that,” Vordenberg shook his head. “You’re here for a very important reason.”

“You gonna’ give me more of your pack to kill?” a cold grin spread on her face while Vordenberg’s face grew dark.

“You will not touch my pack Carmilla, especially when soon you will be apart of them.”

“Excuse me?” Carmilla scoffed, her gaze flicked over to Mattie and she instantly saw the unease on her face. “Mattie?” she questioned, making Mattie shift uncomfortably on her feet before answering.

“Unfortunately he’s right, even if I completely disagree with the absolutely disgusting methods-“

“That’s enough Matska” he silenced, lifting his aged hand. “Carmilla, I’m not sure you quite understand how important you are and unfortunately we can’t risk losing you; we have to be willing to do whatever it takes.” She tugged against her shackles anxiously as Vordenberg stepped closer towards her. “I apologize for what I am about to do but do know that it will be over soon.”

Carmilla’s pleading eyes jumped to Mattie, the clear fear shining in them. Miraculously, Mattie pulled the strength to look her sister in the eye but she regretted it instantly – she couldn’t do anything.

“I’m sorry Carmilla,” she muttered softly.

“Mattie, please” Carmilla begged, her eyes snapping to the decrepit man in front of her as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a sharp glistening blade. Their eyes locked again, her heart hammering in her chest.

“I’ll forgive you, I swear, just get me out of here” she pleaded, trying to push further back into the wall. Vordenberg stopped his movements, turning his gaze towards Mattie; he was waiting. Mattie’s eyes jumped back and forth between Carmilla and Vordenberg, her legs seemingly frozen to the spot.

“Matska?” He inquired, staring her dead in the eye. She took a deep breath before bowing her head downwards.

“No, come on, Mattie” she ignored her pleas, blinking back her tears and focusing all her attention at the grass below her. Each time Carmilla repeated her name her body shook, the words like tiny knives slicing at her tanned skin. Vordenberg smirked before continuing on with his task, lifting the blade and cutting a thin yet slightly deep line on her forearm. As he did, he noticed the woman’s voice in front of him become deeper and rougher.

“Don’t bother turning, your arms will rip out of their sockets.” He said nonchalantly, slipping the tinged blade back into his suit pocket. He was about to move on to the final step when a blood-curdling scream echoed through the crowd. All heads snapped around while Carmilla just let out a breath of relief, but it suddenly hitched when she saw who was waltzing their way up to her.

“Laf?” she mumbled confused, her sight drifting to the unfamiliar people following behind them. She noticed a dark skinned woman stand up from her crouching position, strolling up to walk beside Lafontaine.

“ _You_ are not allowed here” Vordenberg snarled, the crowd of werewolves diverging to make a clear path between their leader and the newcomers.

“My apologies for my manners” Mel sneered, shoving a bloodied up man to the ground. “I believe this one is yours.”

“If you leave right now I’ll consider forgetting this ever happened.”

“Please, you know that will never happen.” She scoffed back, her attention moving over to the chained up woman behind him. “We came for her,” Mel stated, pointing towards Carmilla. Once again, all heads turned to her; Carmilla offered a sly grin.

“Evening folks” she grinned.

“She’s mine, you have no right being here” Vordenberg growled, stepping forward towards her. Mel didn’t even flinch, this gesture normally sending pure fear into his enemy’s eyes.

“She’s an alerus, by blood she’s ours” Lafontaine stepped in, their voice filled with tension. In a heartbeat the air changed, everyone falling into a standoff. The two groups stared each other down, watching and waiting for any sign that the other was going to move, to begin. The older pack members knew that it was the leaders that would start the battle, forcing them to stay back and instead just act fiercely.

“Let her go and there won’t be any trouble.” Mel demanded, the hairs on her neck pricking upwards.

“Leave now and there won’t be any trouble.” Vordenberg counted. They fell back to their stare down.

 

* * *

 

 

Laura checked her phone once more, watching intently as the small blue dot beeped quietly. Hopping out of the car she slammed the door shut, nervously walking around the back and pulling open the boot.

“We’re here Kirsch” Laura smiled softly, lending a hand to help him out of the small compartment. He messily shuffled out of the boot, lifting his arms above his head and letting a much-needed stretch take over his body.

“I can’t believe I was forced to lie in the _boot_ ” he grunted, a tug pulling at his lips as he felt a tiny cracks tickle up his spine.

“I’m really sorry about that but Carm isn’t very good at… trusting people” she replied sincerely.

“Yeah but you _know_ I would never hurt you right?”

“I mean…” Kirsch whipped his head around at her hesitance.

“Oh come on Laur! You know I wouldn’t!” she still looked back at him uneasily. “Look here, pinkie promise.”

“Are you serious?” Laura chuckled, watching giddily as Kirsch put out his hand and flicked up his pinkie.

“Hey, I take my pinkie promises very seriously thank you very much” he grinned. With a melodramatic sigh, Laura gave in.

“Fine, so you promise to never hurt me?” Laura lifted her hand.

“Pinkie promise” he responded proudly, hooking his pinkie around hers. “You have my word Hollis.”

“Looks like it” she giggled back. With a few more chuckles they made their way into the forest, the giddiness quickly becoming replaced with nervousness – it was clear that something was wrong. They kept at the same pace, Kirsch more on edge than usual.

“You know I’m putting off a sick party for you.”

“Oh really?” Laura quirked up an eyebrow.

“Yup, meant to be crazy but instead, I’m stuck here with you”

“Hey!” Laura scolded, swatting her hand against his shoulder. “I’m wonderful company.”

“Oh I’m sure” said Kirsch sarcastically, failing to hide his smile. They continued on their trek, Laura checking down at her screen every now and again to make sure they were heading in the right direction. She couldn’t deny that having Kirsch with her did make her feel the tiniest bit safer, him being a wolf and all. Laura couldn’t help but smile when she thought back to her conversation with Carmilla in the morning.

_“This is Kirsch’s number, if you ever go somewhere that you don’t know and I’m not with you make sure you bring him.”_

_“Carm” Laura whined, “I can take care of myself you know, I’m a big girl.”_

_“I’m not losing you again.” Carmilla put the piece of paper in Laura’s hands, wrapping her fingers around it tightly. “Please, for me.”_

_“Okay.” Laura smiled, her heart swelling when Carmilla grinned back._

_“Good. Oh and make sure that if your driving, to put him in the boot”_

_“Excuse me?” Laura giggled._

_“The boot, I don’t trust him in the front with you” she reasoned, sounding as if it was the most obvious thing in the world._

_“You can’t be serious”_

_“I am. He goes in the boot until we can trust him.”_

_“What if he refuses?” Laura asked, watching in delight as a cheeky grin tugged at Carmilla’s lips._

_“Just mention that you’ll tell me, that should be enough.”_

_“You are so full of yourself”_

A snap of a twig snapped her out of flashback, her senses quickly catching up with the situation.

“What was that?” Laura whispered, shuffling closer next to Kirsch.

“I don’t know,” he muttered back. “I’m going to go check it out.”

“This is not a horror movie you don’t need to be an idiot”

“Shut up” he hissed, using his heightened hearing to try and locate where the sound had come from. As he slowly walked further and further away from a stilled Laura, she grew increasingly anxious.

“Kirsch is this really a good idea?” she whispered harshly.

“ _Yes_ ” he mumbled back, keeping his eyes trained forward.

“Kirsch” she complained, her feet starting to grow restless. Kirsch shook his head, ignoring her and creeping forward.

“ _Kirsch”_ she repeated annoyed.

“What!?” He snapped, whipping his head around towards her. Laura eyes immediately widened as she realized that that was his mistake. A pure black wolf pounced out from the bushes, viciously snapping it jaws at Kirsch’s face.

“Kirsch!” Laura screamed, running up towards him and kicking hard at the large wolf’s body. It fell on its side; quickly scrambling back up to it’s feet.

“Get back Laura!” Kirsch panted, grabbing her by the arms and pushing her back. Laura’s eyes never left the wolfs own; why did those eyes feel so familiar?

“Kirsch wait” Laura struggled against his grip, “I know it, I know… I know _him_ ”

“Laura just shut up and run!” he ordered. To his surprise the brunette didn’t move how he intended, instead pushing harder against him to get closer to the wolf.

“Let me go!” she grunted.

“You’re going to get yourself killed!”

“It’s Liam! I know it is! He won’t hurt me!” At that Kirsch looked at her quizzically, his brows furrowing.

“Are, are you sure?” he questioned, his grip slacking slightly.

“Yes!” she huffed. Kirsch looked back to the wolf, taking the time to sniff the air. To find that scent.

“Kirsch are you even listening to me?” she snapped irritated.

“It’s actually him” Kirsch breathed, finally releasing his hold on her. Laura instantly fell to the dirt, the wall she was pushing against disappearing. On the ground, she lifted her eyes up slowly, noticing the wolf’s eyes lock with hers.

“Liam?” she spoke softly. The wolf blinked a couple times, taking a few steps back. “It’s you isn’t it?” she sighs relieved. A smile spread on her face while Kirsch grew increasingly tense – he didn’t trust the look of the wolf. He knew it was Liam and that normally Liam would be incredibly protective of Laura but the way he was looking at her… he was deciding something.

“Oh no,” he breathed, his panicked eyes widening. Kirsch began pacing towards her, “Laura get away from him, _now_ ”

“What? No” she waved him off, instead edging closer to Liam. The wolf’s growls had stopped; he had decided.

“Laura get away!”

“What are you-“ her voice was cut off as her scream interrupted her, the wolf’s jaw was clamped around her leg.

 

The second the scream hit her ears she knew exactly who it was.

“Laura!” Carmilla roared, her entire body pushing forward against the chains. All eyes were on her again, the scream seeming to not affect them. But Carmilla grew more aggressive, tugging harder and rougher at the chains, the metal scratching on her skin.

“Carmilla, stop this you’ll hurt yourself” Vordenberg hissed, now turning around to face her.

“Where is she!” she roared once more. “I’ll kill you all if you don’t let me go!”

The entire crowd grew silent, knowing that she probably could if she was mad enough. Nervous eyes jumped between each and every one of them until finally Mel looked to Lafontaine, giving them a small nod.

“Carmilla I’ll find her, it’s okay” Lafontaine assured, moving forward past Mel. “I’ll find her, I’ll make sure she’s safe.” Carmilla finally stopped pulling at her restraints, blood now dripping from her wrists.

“Y-You will?” she stammered breathless.

“You have my word.” With that, Lafontaine sprinted off into the trees knowing full well that Carmilla was probably watching their every step – she was. Lafontaine ignored the shouting and insults from the crowd fading behind them. Yeah they really weren’t one for politics.

Lafontaine never stopped moving, smacking away the leaves and branches that hit their face as they ran, but they were so head set on their task it didn’t even affect them. _‘I can’t let Carmilla turn’_ they thought to themself as they hauled themselves over a fallen tree, their calloused skin pressing into the wood.

Suddenly they skidded themselves to a stop, a smoke of dust scattering into the air. Their eyes fluttered close as they focused completely on sound, letting nothing but their hearing flourish.

“Help!” a muffled voice called. _‘Found her’_ Lafontaine smirked.

 

Laura lifted her free leg, kicking hard into the wolf’s head. He let go of her leg, stumbling backwards with a whimper. Laura dragged herself backwards, pushing with her leg to put further distance between her and Liam.

“Kirsch I don’t what you’re doing but I would _really_ appreciate it if you actually did something right now!” she quaked, an unbearable pain pulsating in waves from her right leg. When she didn’t hear a response she hurriedly spun her head around, her mouth dropping when she saw a shaggy maroon wolf emerge from the trees; Kirsch’s clothes were scattered messily on the ground.

“Kirsch?” she mumbled puzzled, her cocking slightly to the side. Kirsch growled in reply, barring his teeth at Liam. He was smaller than the black wolf, you could easily tell the difference in experience and age as the two beasts began circling each other intensely, their large heads aimed downwards but their eyes locked with a piercing gaze. Laura just kept dragging her self away from the fight, sighing with relief as her back collapsed against a tree. She didn’t have the strength to keep on pushing.

“Okay, okay calm down Hollis, don’t panic” Laura muttered to herself, grabbing the end of her sleeve and using her remaining strength to rip the fabric apart. She then quickly moved to wrap the makeshift bandage around the gaping wound; a part of her was starting to panic about the blood loss.

“Hollis, _don’t_ panic, not the time,” she reminded, tying a tight knot after wrapping the already bloodstained rag. After attending to the bite she let her sight fall back to the wolves, her heart clenching when she saw Liam closing in on Kirsch. The black wolf was pushing him back into a stone layered corner but Kirsch didn’t know, he wouldn’t know until it was too late. Realisation hitting Laura, she was about to warn him when Liam finally made the first move, pouncing onto the smaller wolf. All she could hear was snarls and whines as the two fought. Liam having gotten the first attack Kirsch struggled to keep up with his advances, the gnash mark in his stomach slowing his reflexes. It was clear that he was losing. But Laura wasn’t going to let him die, she couldn’t.

“Hey! Liam!” she shouted, her heart deflating when the wolf’s head didn’t move. “You know when I get out of this I’m going to tell the world about you! About werewolves and all of your kind, I’m going to be rich!” Liam eventually snapped, charging at Kirsch and biting hard on his back before tossing the limp body to the ground. Blood dripped from his jaws as his cold black eyes drifted over to Laura.

“Liam” she gulped, pushing further back into the tree. Liam began snarling, stalking his way up to her. “Liam…” she tried again, adrenaline pumping in waves through her veins. But he kept walking, slowly getting close enough that his powerful jaws were inches away from Laura’s face, Kirsch’s blood dripping onto her jeans. As he readied his paws on either side of her, Laura had one last flicker of an idea. “Carmilla will never forgive you,” she stated as strongly as she could, thanking whatever gods there were when her voice wasn’t a complete and utter trembling mess. Liam flinched – he understood what she said. Laura had to hide the feeling of relief that washed over her. Just when it looked like he was about to make the final finishing move, a saviour with a denim jacket kicked the wolf off her. Laura instantly looked up and was relieved to see it was Lafontaine.

“Not so fast wolfie boy, I can’t let you hurt this one.” Even though their tone was mocking, they could both sense the underlying threat flowing through. It seemed as if the wolf was deciding what to do as he pulled himself up to his feet, panting aggressively. Lafontaine sighed when they saw Liam had started snarling.

“Liam there’s no point in this. She’s bitten now you’ve already sealed her fate. Now you can either ‘save’ her the pain of being executed by killing her now _or_ you can let me get her out of here. I can sneak her out, let her and Carmilla live a happy life,” Liam stopped snarling. “I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again, Vordenberg is here anyway so you need to choose now before he sends some lackeys to follow her.”

“He is?” Laura asked, fear laced into her voice.

“Yeah… he was planning something tonight to do with Carmilla. I’m here with the leader of the ‘werecats’ to stop it.”

“You’re one too?” Laura’s eyes widened. “You’re a panther?”

“Oh no” Lafontaine chuckled, “I’m a leopard, a damn good one at that.”

“Where’s Carmilla then?” Laura questioned, pushing her hands against the ground to try and push her up. As she did she stumbled forward when she put too much pressure on her injured leg, letting out a quiet squeal as she fell into Lafontaine arms.

“Woah there soldier, you are in no condition to be moving” Lafontaine giggled, letting Laura lean against them.

“Where is she?” she asked again urgently.

“She’s close” they sighed. “She’s in the open field up north-“

A loud bark interrupted them, both of their heads whipping around to the large wolf.

“Liam… no…” Lafontaine warned uneasily. But it had no affect on the beast as within the second the wolf sprinted off away from them, running off into the forest and disappearing into the ever-growing darkness.

“We need to follow him.”

“No we don’t, I promised Carmilla I’d keep you safe so I’m going to do just that.” They stated, pacing over to the bleeding brown wolf lying on the ground. “He with you?”

“Yes but-“

“Alright I’ll hold him in my arms, you can use me as a crutch while we walk back. Is your car near?”

“Laf I’m not-“

“Come on Laur let’s get moving, your leg is just going to get worse-“

“Lafontaine!” Laura snapped, silencing the other person. “Take me to Carmilla, now.”

“Laura…”

“Take me to her.” She ordered sternly, her tone losing all warmth. They shifted on their feet anxiously, Kirsch’s wolf form whimpering quietly in their arms. They had to keep Laura safe, they knew that but still, she wanted to see Carmilla and who were they to deny that? _‘Well fuck it’_ they thought to themselves.

“Fine, but we need to get your friend here to somewhere safe” they sighed, giving in to Laura. They didn’t miss the smug grin that graced Laura’s face for a quick second before instantly being wiped away.

“We’ll take him to my car, then you will take me immediately to Carm.”

“Alright” Lafontaine breathed, annoyed that they couldn’t run their fingers through their hair at this moment. “Let’s go then.”

 

* * *

 

Liam had completely lost himself. Well, he had completely given up on himself. He’d lost Carmilla, almost killed Laura and was sprinting off in his murderous haze to kill Vordenberg. The name itself made him grind his teeth.

Vordenberg used to be his friend, someone who he could trust growing up. He was there for his first transformation; the first time his bones ripped through themselves with such ferocity only screams escaped his lungs. But while his younger bored friends left, the older friend stayed, changed into his own wolf and taught him what he needed to know, even what he wanted to know. But after the deaths of Vordenberg’s parents he changed so dramatically he could barely recognize the man that once would protect the young pup.

Vordenberg became extremely conservative. He became alpha after their death, taking the role very seriously – and forcefully. Liam tried to get through to his former best friend but nothing worked, Liam kept warning him about the dangerous moves and reactions he was taking. Vordenberg was the reason the usual peace between the two species was thin, why it soon turned into a power play which Vordenberg greedily dove into. In the end though Liam couldn’t bring himself to fully hate him, to completely destroy any sense of friendship and love from his mind. He was once like a brother to him and he just didn’t know how to cope with his parent’s death… and Liam didn’t know what to do to stop him from letting his new self engulf him. Because it did. It really, painfully, did.

Liam shook his large black head at the thoughts. _‘Forget the past. Vordenberg has Carmilla, hurt Laura, will make Carmilla his own. He must pay.’_ Thankfully, his thoughts switched moods, swinging from sadness to pure rage. _He must pay._

 

Carmilla was growing more and more restless. The idea that Laura was here, possibly injured and so close to all these monsters; it sent her ablaze. The old man and proud dark skinned woman were still arguing, honestly she lost track of what they were saying about ten minutes ago, something about ‘traditions’, ‘laws’ and for some strange reason… ‘blood’? The thought of the red substance triggered an internal battle inside Carmilla’s head. It meant too many things. Well, it meant two things with one of them being the most sickening yet satisfying thing she’d ever had in her life. Death and life force. It was ironic she thought, such contrasting ideas forced to sit by each other.

 _‘Maybe I should get into philosophy’_ Carmilla wondered to herself. A ferocious snarl pulled her from her thoughts.

The jet-black wolf snapped it’s jaws, it’s piercing blue eyes locking with Vordenberg’s. That was it’s target Mel’s pack realized and they all were visibly seen to relax while Vordenberg’s side looked like a gun about to go off. But as Vordenberg widened his stance, ready to fight, he finally got the chance to identify those blue eyes.

“Liam?” He questioned puzzled. The wolf let out threatening growl, beckoning him to step out from the crowd. “Liam what are you doing?” Vordenberg continued.

“Alpha, he must be ridden of, there’s no time for conversing” Will reminded, instantly regretting his comment when the elder man snapped his head round, his eyes drilling into Will’s.

“I will do what is needed boy” he growled, aiming his gaze back at Liam. “Liam, there is no time for this.”

“Dad?” Carmilla mumbled, finally pulling enough strength to see what all the commotion was about. _‘What was on that knife?’_

Liam’s blue eyes widened, poking his head to the side to see his daughter, held up tight against a wall. She was chained, had a dripping cut on her forearm. No one was helping her.

“Liam.” Vordenberg warned, noticing the hairs on Liam’s neck stand on end. But Liam had no intention of stopping; he had long since given up on being reasonable. He was basically dead in his own mind, as if fulfilling his last wishes in his ghost form. Just as he bent his hind legs preparing to pounce, Laura and Lafontaine sprinted out from the trees behind him. Everyone instantly smelled the human scent, panic erupting from the crowd. Mel tried to calm her people down, desperately looking to Lafontaine to see them give her a nod. _‘Thank god this is over’_ she thought to herself, stepping forward from the mass of tense leopards.

“Vordenberg, we will discuss this issue later. Carmilla stays alive until the matter is resolved, is that clear?” said Mel loudly, her words strong and even.

“I have no intention of killing her.” He bit back. Mel growled before spinning on her feet and leading her people back home, giving a quick reassuring glance to Lafontaine before she left. Liam started to calm down, he was still growling lightly but his vicious snarls had disappeared. Vordenberg’s pack stirred as Lafontaine and Laura approached.

“I would also like to let all of you know that if _any_ of you idiots decide to try and kill me, Carmilla will probably rip out your neck.” They threatened. It seemed like they understood, all of them glancing to a shrugging Carmilla that looked like her saying _‘Yeah they’re probably right.’_ With a smug grin Lafontaine led Laura through the crowd, growling at any werewolf that got too close. They held a tight grip on her but the second a battered Carmilla came into Laura’s view she somehow wiggled her way out of their grip, leaving Lafontaine stumbling forward slightly as they reached to try and snatch at her jacket. Lafontaine just sighed and sped up a little, making sure that none of the wolves dared to touch her.

“Carm!” Laura breathed relieved, trying to run up and hug her. Laura struggled at getting her arms around her partner’s back as it was pulled up tightly against the wall. She settled for a sweet touching kiss instead, her soft hand came up, cupping Carmilla’s jaw that Carmilla lent into instantly, desperately missing Laura’s touch. Carmilla hummed just from Laura’s presence, the feeling of her lips causing a soft purr to vibrate from her throat. Laura grinned at her response, pulling away to see Carmilla’s eyes still closed, as if stuck in a daze. The brunette did her best balancing her weight on her non-injured leg, letting her forehead lean against Carmilla’s. But the peacefulness didn’t last long.

“She’s been bitten” Vordenberg breathed, his eyes snapping around to his pack. “Which of you is responsible for this?” he snapped, rage building up in his fists. Liam snarled loudly, stepping through the crowd that diverged as the wolf walked through. “Liam,” Vordenberg growled.

“He didn’t mean it, he was going to kill her because of the laws anyway, she knows of our existence as a human.” Lafontaine defended, hoping not to get caught in the middle of a brawl.

“Then why isn’t she dead?” Will questioned, standing close by his alpha’s side.

“He’s weak.” The alpha spat, all mercy draining from his body. “What he’s done is forbidden, by law no one can turn humans without my permission. The _alpha’s_ permission.” The black wolf bared its fangs. “I can’t give you anymore breaks Liam, it’s over.”

Carmilla reluctantly opened her eyes, finally deciding to add to the conversation. “What are you going to do to him? Banish him like you mutts did before?” she smirked, her smirk growing as she heard various offended growls.

“He is to be executed” Will asserted, addressing the entire group and not just Carmilla. “For his crimes, Liam Karnstein will fight to the death with the alpha.” A round of cheers filled the air, everyone spreading and forming a circle as Vordenberg rolled his neck, crouching down to the dirt ground and letting the change take him. His suit ripped from his stretching bones, the dagger clattering to the ground as grey and white fur grew thickly along his back.

“We need to help him,” Lafontaine whispered, strolling up between the chained up woman and Laura. Laura nodded nervously as she eyed the crowd, seeing a large silver wolf shake the last remains of its human clothes from it’s body; it was almost twice as big as Liam.

“Did he really try to kill you?” Carmilla asked Laura concerned.

“It doesn’t matter,” she shook her head. “We need to help him, he’s your _father_ Carm.”

“But he won’t be much longer if we keep chatting” Lafontaine pressed, earning a glare from Carmilla.

“Fine” she sighed. “Get me out of these cuffs then.” Laura grinned satisfied as they both tried to unhook her restraints but to both of their surprise, the metal hinge held. Growing frustrated Lafontaine channeled all their supernatural strength into their arms, hooking their fingers around loop and pulling, their body leaned backwards as they tugged which only led to them forcefully falling into the floor when their grip slipped.

“Jesus Christ how strong are those?” they muttered confused.

“We’re going to have to find the keys.”

“And where might they be?” Lafontaine puffed, whipping the sweat from their brow. Laura simply aimed her head at the crowd of people – to Vordenberg. At that, the panther’s dark hazel eyes widened.

“No way you are going near that psychopath, we’re just lucky he’s distracted right now. Go find Mattie, she can help” Lafontaine gave her a puzzled look. “Tall, dark skin, black hair, looks like she could kill you in a heart beat.”

“Gotcha.” When Lafontaine disappeared into the cheering crowd, the two large wolves snarling and circling each other, Laura moved closer to Carmilla.

“Why is Mattie here?” she whispered. Carmilla didn’t lift her gaze off the crowd.

“She’s one of them, a wolf. This whole time she knew from the start.”

“What?”

“She’s a werewolf Laura. Her and my father planned for me to end up under her leadership just so he could still have a hold on me.”

“You don’t know that, it could have been for your protection.”

“Protection from what?” Carmilla snapped, almost instantly apologizing silently to Laura.

“Protection from the people who would want to hurt you, Lafontaine explained to me that the cats and dogs don’t get along too well” she grinned. “I think you are jumping to conclu-“ her clear words turned into mumbles as a dizzy spell struck her.

“Laura? Are you okay?” Carmilla questioned worried, obvious panic in her voice.

“Yeah I’m fine it’s just-“ Her legs suddenly buckled under their weight, sending the brunette to the ground, her hands sticking out in reflex to break the fall.

“Laura!” Carmilla tried to reach out to catch her, growling angrily when her arms were still clamped back. “Fucking hell,” she muttered, “Laura! Talk to me!”

“I’m okay,” she mumbled back. Her head was spinning as she tried to push herself up, only getting halfway and giving in to just sitting down. Her leg was still pulsating in waves of pain since the adrenaline had cut off, leaving her to writhe in the constant agony. Her limbs felt heavy from an invisible weight when she started to feel the familiar sensation of an intense headache (more like a pick axe hacking at her skull) pierce her head. Her hand came up to the side of her head as the headache worsened, her eyes squinting. “Why is it so loud?” she muttered bitterly.

“Cupcake it’s going to be okay, I’m gonna get us out of here where no one can find us.” Carmilla assured, her heart aching as she saw Laura at the brink of crying from the pain. A shooting pain erupted in her ear, her hands clamping even harder over her ears.

“Why is it so loud?!” Laura yelled her eye’s shut tight. The voices swirled in suffocating waves in her mind. They never stopped, the waves constantly crashing and smashing it’s way around her; why didn’t they stop?

“What’s wrong with Laura?” Lafontaine panted, emerging from the loud group of people.

“Something’s wrong, I need to be out of these fucking chains!” she snapped. The sudden burst of noise sent another shooting pain to her ears, forcing her to choke out a scream.

“Make it stop!” Laura cried, pushing harder at her skull. Lafontaine immediately crouched down close to Laura, ignoring the defensive glare from Carmilla.

“Laura, tell me what’s wrong” they asked softly, making sure to be as gentle as possible.

“The noise” she whimpered. “It’s so loud, why are they so loud?”

“The sound? Is that’s what’s wrong?”

“Make it stop!” she screamed once more, letting Lafontaine retreat back from her. They glanced to Carmilla who was looking at them expectantly.

“It’s the noise, we need to take her some place quiet.” They explained.

“What? Why, what’s happening to her?”

“It’s the change.” Mattie stated, walking up to stand by Lafontaine’s side. “When bitten the process for the first change is… much more painful compared to being born a wolf.” Carmilla didn’t say a word, instead emitting a low threatening growl from her chest. The mere presence of Mattie set her veins ablaze.

“How long till her first change?” Lafontaine stepped in.

“She’ll have her first change at the next full moon. Until then, her body will slowly be adjusting to its new capabilities, mostly likely amplifying them.”

“Get me out of these chains” Carmilla spat, clear anger in her tone. It was painfully obvious when Mattie flinched from the harshness of her sister’s words, but nonetheless, Mattie pushed down that hurt.

“I know. I don’t have the keys, Vordenberg does.”

“Then get them.” Carmilla growled back, venom dripping in her voice.

“I can’t, they’re in the ring with Vordenberg and your father,” she explained, hoping that Carmilla would accept the logic. She didn’t.

“I said get th-“ her threat was cut off as a loud roar erupted from the crowd. All eyes snapped to the source, seeing the terrifying silver wolf standing over the black wolf’s body, Liam’s body. It looked as if the larger wolf as about to finished the job, a vicious victorious small smile pulling at it’s dark lips but before it could bite down, the black wolf pulled it’s fading strength to strike at his opponents belly. Vordenberg pulled away, just missing Liam’s bite. The dramatic change in positions sent the crowd to roar once more, this time in anger.

It was the second time they cheered when Laura felt wetness slide down her finger.

Carmilla’s eyes widened in fear when she looked to the shivering woman beside her, “Laura you’re bleeding!”

But her words didn’t reach her. Everything was mushed into one suffocating sensation clamping down on her skull. The ringing pain had grown more intense, each time the crowd roared sending hot tears down her cheeks, it didn’t stop; it only grew.

“She needs help!” Carmilla snapped, finally regaining the attention of the two people in front of her.

“She’ll be fine Carmilla, we need to focus on helping Liam” Mattie said, only infuriating Carmilla even more.

“Broods it’s okay, this is normal we’ll get out of here soon, we just need to get Liam out of here.” Her sight jumped between both of them, her fist clenched white.

“She. Needs. Help.” She growled through gritted teeth.

“We _can’t_ help her Carmilla” Mattie huffed annoyed. “Look at the priorities here for once, we need to help Liam not Laura.” Lafontaine instantly tensed. The one thing you do with Carmilla Karnstein… is not mention Laura unless it’s pure praise.

“Laura is the priority.”

“Listen, we just need to get out of here, she’ll be in pain for a while but she can deal with it. A dead father on the other hand, you can’t.” Her words left Carmilla seething, her body starting to visibly shake as she had no way to express her anger. Lafontaine thankfully noticed this, moving to try and sooth the situation until a small, hurt voice stopped them in their tracks.

“Carm” Laura whimpered, her wet eyes dragging themselves up to meet hers. And just like that, her pure untainted rage dissipated the second she locked eyes with her.

“What’s up cupcake?” she smiled gently, irritated that she couldn’t crouch down next to her.

“Please… make it stop… I can’t-“

“It’s okay” Carmilla assured. “Everything will be okay.”

“I can hear it all, it hurts, god it hurts _so_ much, please make it stop” Laura couldn’t hold her voice for any longer, soon breaking in sobs, the cause being a mix of fear and pain. The anger retuned to Carmilla, seeping into her skin.

But before she could get in a scarily detailed threat to Mattie to free her, another cheer burst from the crowd. This one was the loudest by far, and Laura crumpled to the grass as she felt more blood trickle over her fingers. It was then that Carmilla connected the dots and now that she had a use for her rage, it grew even more.

“Everyone shut up!” she roared causing a couple confused heads to turn her way, but soon ignoring her and going back to the fight.

“Carmilla calm down” Lafontaine warned, dreading where this could be going.

“All of you! You fucking scum bags shut up!” she was shaking now, seething to the brim with fury. But they kept ignoring her, and Laura kept crying. Laura kept hurting. Laura kept bleeding.

“Your alpha is pathetic as well as all of you, now shut your damn mouths!” she roared once more. More heads turned her way this time, grunting quietly before returning to the display. They weren’t silencing.

“Why won’t they listen?” Carmilla growled, feeling her entire body tense.

“They’re idiots forget them, you need to calm down-”

“No! They need too… th-they need to listen…” that terrifyingly familiar feeling entered her mind, her mind started to spin. _‘They won’t listen and Laura is hurting, the are hurting Laura, they are hurting Laura.’_

“Carmilla stop, you need to breathe” Lafontaine tried to smile to try and calm down their friend but it was clear it wasn’t working. They couldn’t let her turn, they were certain it would be a blood bath.

“Carmilla, we can take Laura away from here, she will be safe” Mattie coaxed, the thought of seeing Carmilla turn freezing her insides.

“T-They hurt… t-they hurt her” the dizziness morphed into pain, forcing her head to slam against the wall.

“No they didn’t, it’s not their fault-”

“Everything is fine, just take a deep breath.”

“They will pay.” Those were her last words before the blackness overtook her, before her eyes clouded over with smoke. Simultaneously, Lafontaine and Mattie stepped back, both of their jaws dropping at the sight in front of them.

“Carmilla?” they questioned, furrowing their brows curiously. The creature before them snarled, the ends of her hands extending in claws while her jaw widened and grew slightly as well. Her white fangs glistened in the moonlight. Some of the shouts and cheers from the crowd died down, confused, Laura put aside the deafening ringing sound and looked to Carmilla. _Shit_.

“Get away from her” said Laura trying to pull herself up. ‘ _Ignore the pain_ ’. “She’s not there anymore”

“What?”

“You need to get away, just at least not in front of her” she swayed on feet as she stood up, a sickening feeling churning in her stomach. Lafontaine hesitantly nodded, their eyes glued to the snarling Carmilla as they walked to stand by Laura’s side, Mattie followed suit. More of the crowd was starting to notice her change in state, curiosity getting the better of them when more and more ignored the fight and focused on her. Soon, Will noticed the diversion of attention. Originally he was going to scold whatever clown was being an idiot and talking to his mates but then his line of sight fell to Carmilla, fell to the source of the attention.

“Everyone! Protect the alpha!” he commanded, watching in rapid succession as each of the heads snapped his way, growling and falling into a defensive stance. The two wolves in the centre backed off each other, one of them freezing when they saw his daughter.

Liam saw her, thrashing back and forth in her restraints, her movements becoming more erratic each time Laura whimpered; he saw his daughter become the thing that was meant to be a myth. A bedtime story to make sure you didn’t trip your younger sibling; a tale to keep you in line, yet there was his only daughter. Panting, snarling, and craving blood. Vordenberg had the opposite reaction to her, dismissing her as quickly as he saw her. But as his large silver head looked back to Liam, seeing his neck perfectly exposed and frozen still, he didn’t miss the opportunity.

Carmilla didn’t see her father die, she didn’t see when the silver wolf clamped its teeth around his neck, biting down and pushing him to the ground. She didn’t see when the silver wolf let go and then went to strike at his stomach, ripping out a chunk of his flesh. No, she didn’t see that. She saw him smile. A small one, her soulless eyes found his yellow ones, and he smiled. In that moment it was as if she could hear him speak.

_‘I’m sorry for everything I did wrong. I loved you so much and I just wanted the best but I know I’ve made mistakes. You need to keep fighting, if Vordenberg stays in power there’s no telling what hell he will bring. But you are so strong; it makes me so proud to see you grow, because I know how hard it’s been to get here. Please remember that you are here. You made it. And I’m so damn proud.’_

His large eyelids gently closed and his lungs slowly released his last breath. She felt a piece of her break; she also felt the clasps around her wrists break.

“Get back” Laura panted, covering her ears when that familiar pain bit her once more. A pained groan escaped her chest, reminding Carmilla of the rage. _‘They hurt her and killed him’_. The rage came back and she bared her teeth, reaching down and scarily easily ripping the metal restraints. The silver wolf disappeared into the trees; this becoming more apparent as Will stepped to the front of the pack, ignoring the fear in his stomach.

“You…” Carmilla growled, her voice so deep and rough it barely sounded human. “You all be… silence”

“The fuck did that bitch say?” one of the men of the pack called out. The creature snarled, showing its fangs. Within the second she dashed for him, for the heat, dragging him to the front and throwing him to the ground. He struggled against her supreme grip but it did him no justice, the creature soon sunk its teeth around his neck sucking in the liquid gold before ripping out the flesh and spitting it to the dirt.

“Carmilla!” Vordenberg hissed, shoving his way past Will who hid his annoyance. “Get off him.”

The creature growled in response, her hungry eyes jumping between all of the heat bodies until finally landing on the largest one in front of her. She recognized his scent, _‘He hurt her.’_

“All of you! Head back to your homes!” Vordenberg roared. The pack all shared nervous glances, not actually knowing if they meant to abandon this possible fight between their leader and Carmilla.

“Sir, she could kill you” Will advised, not able to bring the strength to look at her soulless eyes. “We should stay, for your safety.”

“Do what you’re told William. I want everyone to leave.”

“But sir-“

“Now!” he snapped. Realising that he wasn’t going to change his mind, Will complied.

“You heard the man” he sighed. “Everyone, out!”

“Someone bring that wolf as well-“

“No!” Laura bellowed, hurting her own self in process. But she was strong, there was no way in hell she’d let that excuse of a man take Liam away. “You won’t touch him.” Laura spat. Carmilla’s head snapped at the sudden burst of sound, locking onto Laura. Her breath hitched when she looked at her, she seemed so empty, so close to nothing yet at the same time when she saw her she felt something inside her ache to respond back. The more she stared, the more it felt like she was drilling into her soul, so much so that it felt she was talking to her… but not with her mouth.

 _‘He hurt you?’_ she heard the voice ask. It sounded like Carmilla’s but at the same time entirely different.

 _‘Yes’_ Laura responded, not even sure how she did. A moment later Carmilla’s head whipped around to face Vordenberg, for a second it seemed as if he was afraid, his stone cold façade soon covered up his error. The creature began stalking its way up to him, taking painfully slow steps. Vordenberg stood still.

“Carmilla, I do not wish to hurt you. This night was intended to have a good ending.” When she kept walking towards him, her panting growing more aggressive as the need for blood was increasing, he sighed softly. “But I can’t have you killing my people. And so, I apologize for getting rid of this wonderful opportunity but family comes first.” The creature finally snapped, letting out a blood-curdling roar as she pounced on him but it was as if he expected this, moving to the side that only let her half drag him down. Both on the ground Vordenberg hauled himself to his feet, dragging his body as quickly as he could away from Carmilla. His only advantage was distance, close range she was deadly and it could easily rip apart his neck – he had to keep away from her teeth. Carmilla snarled angrily, swiftly pushing herself off the dirt and sprinting towards him but yet again he had already calculated her move and was holding his dagger firmly in his right hand.

Carmilla was new to this sensation, finding out her origins of being a shadowblood; Vordenberg used this to his advantage. She wasn’t trained, only solely driven on that need for blood and violence, although this itself had its own dangers. Some would be willing to do anything just to ease that urge; that ache. Carmilla growled threateningly as she rushed at Vordenberg and he snarled back, their bodies smashed together when he didn’t move out of the way fast enough. But Carmilla hesitated when his neck was right below her teeth – she could feel the dagger in stomach. Roaring viciously, she wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him over her, flipping and throwing him to the ground. Carmilla jumped on him, her bloodied hands gripping his neck.

“Ca-Carmilla” Vordenberg wheezed, desperately trying her pull her hands off him. But her grip held, like an iron gate crushing his throat. “Please” he begged. The words didn’t reach her; all she saw was the heat… and that hate. Just as his sight began to blur, in a last ditch attempt to save his own life but end Carmilla’s he snapped his hand forward, gripping onto the dagger in her stomach and twisting. Carmilla roared in agony, releasing her grip and slumping to the side. Vordenberg was the opposite, rushing up to his feet in a heartbeat and giving as much distance as he could that still allowed him to be able to speak to her.

Laura finally managed to escape Lafontaine strong hold; she ignored that pain that raked through her as she sprinted over to Carmilla’s shivering body.

“Carm, Carm hey” Laura breathed, crouching down and pulling her limp body closer to her. She couldn’t hide the breath of relief when she saw that her eyes had returned to normal.

“You know this is the second time this month I’ve ended up with a knife in my stomach” Carmilla mumbled, relishing in the fact that Laura was close to her.

“It’s good to see you’re back to your normal sarcastic self” Laura smirked, earning a glare from the woman bellow her. She didn’t stop herself when her hand found its way tanged up in her soft hair. With a bit of grunting and wincing, Carmilla managed to flip her head to the other side and lift herself up slightly, supporting herself with one arm while the other held her wound.

“Hey Vordie” Carmilla grunted, gesturing with her head for him to come closer. He didn’t. “Come on, I promise I don’t bite.” She grins, making Laura lightly swat on her shoulder.

“What’d I do to deserve that?” Carmilla retorted annoyed.

“There’s no need to brag about your ability to rip people apart.”

“Aw misses no fun” Carmilla huffed, not hiding the loving smile tugging at her lips. “But Vordie seriously, I got something to tell you.” Both Vordenberg and Laura looked at her curiously.

“I’m probably about to die right now and I need you to know that if you so much as touch Laura I will come back from the grave and kill you.”

“Carm…”

“Do you understand?” Carmilla’s voice turned cold. He nodded back at her.

“Of course.”

“Good because-“ her words were cutoff as a coughing fit raged through her, crimson red splattering itself onto the vibrant green grass. Laura held on tighter to Carmilla’s shaking body as Lafontaine and Mattie jogged up to stand close to them. “This isn’t looking too good” Carmilla chuckled. Nobody else laughed.

“Lay her down” Mattie advised, fear pulsating in her veins. Lafontaine watched Laura carefully lean the pale woman down nervously, they had grown strangely attached to their new friend; it hurt them immensely to think about losing them. They crouched down next to the brunette, how she was holding herself together they would never know… but there was something they realised knew. It would be a complete shot in the dark they thought, there being an extremely low chance that it could work. But it could. And that was enough.

“Laura” Lafontaine whispered anxiously, she tore her hazel eyes from the fading Carmilla to face them.

“Yeah?” she replied, her voice clearly trembling. _‘Please god let this work.’_

“I-I have a very crazy idea,” Laura’s eyes visibly lit up, “there’s this poem, well it’s a nursery rhyme I suppose, about the shadow bloods…”

“Lafontaine” Mattie warned. She knew they meant well but she also knew it would hurt Laura a lot more to have their hopes brought back up and crushed again. They merely growled lightly back at them, deadest on any chance of keeping Carmilla alive.

“It says that-“

“If we leave now we could get her to a hospital,” Mattie interjected, earning a glare from Lafontaine. “We can run faster than humans, we could get her there in time.”

“The nearest hospital is miles away, unless you can fly there’s no chance you could make it.” Vordenberg stated, stepping back slightly when all three heads turned to him growling. “…Not that what I say matters to you at the current time.”

They shook their head before continuing, “There’s this scary story about the shadowblood’s right and one of the lines is: _Blood is craved for their every meal, warriors in battle drink the blood that heals.”_

Lafontaine sighed when they saw Laura look at them blankly. “ _Heals_ Laura, they say blood _heals!_ ”

“Wait, are you saying-“

“Maybe if she has… blood or something it can heal her.” They explain excited, their words tumbling out messily. The moment Lafontaine finished their explanation Mattie instantly crouched down next to Carmilla, rolling up her sleeve.

“No, no it has to clean, human” they clarify, their heart clenching when they saw the deflated look on the other woman’s features. Noticing the pitying look on the leopard’s face, Mattie straightened her back and stiffened her posture, for she was not someone who would be pitied on. Not ever.

“I’m human” Laura spoke up, her voice surprisingly strong. Both pair of eyes widened.

“You’ve been bitten” Mattie pointed out, hoping to deter Laura.

“Like twenty minutes ago, I’m still mostly human” she looked towards Lafontaine expectantly. “Right?”

“I mean technically yes” they replied uneasily, shrugging helplessly when they saw the glare burning at them from Mattie. Having been so caught up in their own conversation, everyone jumped startled when Carmilla spoke up in a rough voice.

“Do I get a say in this?” she grumbled. The injured brunette instantly shuffled closer to her.

“No because I already know your answer.”

“I’m not hurting you” Carmilla stated matter-of-factly. “I’m not.”

“Carm… the only reason you’re not dead already right now is because you’re not human and I’m not going to stand back and do nothing while watching you die.” Her words trembled as she spoke, Laura’s bottom lip quivering. But Carmilla offered a warm smile, carefully lifting up her hand to touch her cheek.

“I told you, I will never leave you.”

“But you are about too” Laura smiled back, forcing herself to take deep shaky breath to steady out her breathing. “We’re doing it.”

“I told you-“

“Sis, you actually don’t have a say in this” Lafontaine interrupted sheepishly. “When you turn you’re instincts will take over.”

“Well, I’m not turning then am I?” Carmilla bit back. Lafontaine deflated at that but Laura looked at them determined.

“Laf, I have a crazy idea” she grinned. “I think I’m… the trigger”

“The trigger?” Lafontaine responded confused. Mattie looked easily puzzled while Vordenberg perked up, edging closer to the huddled group.

“Yeah I mean it seems that when I’m hurt or something Carm goes a little crazy-“

“I do not.”

“You kinda do” they smirked, their smile growing when Carmilla lifted her middle finger from her limp hand on the grass.

“But I mean I reckon we could…”

“She’s correct” Vordenberg stepped in, ignoring the glares. “It was how I tested out if Carmilla was indeed a shadowblood.”

The group shared nervous glances between each other. It was dangerous, quite literally based on rumours with no actual evidence that it could be true but they were desperate, she was desperate – Laura was desperate. With a subtle nod to herself Laura stood up and waltzed over (as gracefully as she could with one working leg) to Vordenberg. Lafontaine and Mattie immediately rose to their feet as Laura grew closer to the old man, both of them clenching their fists.

“Vordenberg, your knife” said Laura, sticking out her open hand. Huffing bitterly to himself he reached inside his pocket and revealed the glistening blade, the engraved bone handle fitting perfectly in her hand. “Thank you.” As Laura made her way back over to the group with a smug grin, Carmilla had another coughing spasm this one being much more intense than the last one.

“Laura!” Mattie exclaimed breathless, crouching down and pushing Carmilla on her side. _‘Here we go’_ Laura thought to herself, skidding to a halt and falling to the ground next to the panicking Lafontaine.

“Okay Mattie, make sure Carm can see, Laf, take the knife and cut my arm.” Mattie nodded and went to do as told, delicately holding Carmilla’s head but aiming in Laura’s direction. The panther attempted to fight her sister but considering her next to no strength it didn’t make a difference, her vision was blurring and her stomach was burning – all she could see in a tunnel-like vision was Laura.

“Cupcake… p-please…” Carmilla mumbled, watching begrudgingly as a knife in Lafontaine’s hands hovered above Laura’s arm.

“It’s okay baby, everything will be okay” she cooed, holding back her tears. Laura looked back to Lafontaine, notcing the clear hesitance in their eyes.

“I-I can’t” they stammered.

“You have too” Laura encouraged, nervously glancing at Carmilla to see her eyelids slowly closing. “Shit Laf she’s nearly gone, do it now!”

And they did.

The knife was cold on her skin and the pain didn’t compare to the constant pounding in her head, but Laura still couldn’t help but curse as Lafontaine went to put more pressure to ensure the cut would bleed. The cool air stung at the wound but Laura didn’t care, all she could do was stare at her partner and pray for the thing that she dreaded to see; but then Carmilla’s eyes closed.

“No!” the brunette quaked, her pleading eyes jumping to Mattie. “Pull her eyelids back open!” Laura demanded, watching intently as the older woman went to do so. After an expectant glare from Laura, Lafontaine went to make another mark except this time; Laura made an effort to cry out. She screamed as loud as she could, her head blaring back in protest forcing her to focus her absolute hardest not to pass out from the pain right then.

There was a passing moment in which it felt like everything froze, time itself slowing down to a standstill. Voices screamed but it was the minds that roared the loudest, each yelling at the top of their lungs in a desperate attempt to be allowed outside; to be allowed to be spoken. But then in the same instance time sped up again and the impossible became possible.

Carmilla eyes snapped open, and they were black.

Laura was quick to react, swiftly grabbing ahold of her shoulders and pulling her up to her neck, wincing slightly as she felt a sharp pain. Carmilla couldn’t stop herself when she instinctively bit down, considering that she barely had any control over herself when she was fully healed, she wouldn’t be able stop herself right now even if there was a gun to her head. But the sensation was addictive; Carmilla bit down harder, the soft skin offering no resistance as she reviled in the taste of the liquid gold that splashed against her tongue. Her entire body felt like it was on fire as her skin burned in the best possible way and she swore she could feel something being pushed out from her stomach, as if her body was slowly returning to it’s original state.

The feeling was so addictive, too addictive, because she realized she couldn’t stop.

“Carm…” Laura mumbled, slowly feeling herself become weaker and weaker. “Carm, stop.” But Carmilla didn’t move, instead growling lightly when she felt Laura try to push her off.

“Carmilla.” Mattie tried, the relief of seeing her sister rise from the dead soon being replaced with fear. “Carmilla that’s enough” she stated sternly. But she still didn’t stop. With an irritated huff Lafontaine went to stand behind Carmilla, placing their hands on her shoulder and tugging back. Carmilla instantly lifted her head and snapped her hungry gaze onto Lafontaine, the blood dripping from lips while her eyes stayed jet-black.

“Good… now just calm down” they advised, stepping forward and reaching their hand out once more to try to pull the creature away from the slumped over Laura. However the second their hand began to tug her away from the source of the addictive substance Carmilla roared angrily, jumping up from the dirt and latching onto Lafontaine before throwing them to the ground.

“Mattie help!” Lafontaine called out right as their body was pulled back up only to have their head smashed into Carmilla’s knee. Lafontaine fell unconscious to the dirt ground.

“Carmilla… stop this it’s over” Mattie gulped, eyeing her sister cautiously. Carmilla let out a deep threatening growl, reaching down and lacing her hands on the bone grip of the knife lodged in her stomach. The other woman’s eyes widened as Carmilla slowly pulled the knife from its place, the instant it being freed from its hold blood leaking steadily from the gap.

Snarling, she threw the blade to the ground before rushing at the unsuspecting woman and pouncing. They fell in in a tangled mess to the ground as Mattie struggled against her strong grip, but the second they hit the grass Carmilla’s superior strength proved victorious as she pinned her down. With a throaty growl she knocked Mattie unconscious with a powerful blow. Jumping back up she raced backed to the dazed Laura who had pulled herself up to her two legs, Carmilla slowed her pace as she grew closer to her.

“Carm let’s get you to hospital now, they can stitch the wound up and-“ Carmilla’s jaw slipped back to it’s original position, digging in deeper in Laura’s neck to give her a better hold. The sudden change of position sent them falling to the ground with a thud, Carmilla’s injured body hovering possessively over Laura’s. That intoxicating sensation returned as well as that fire, that wonderful warmth that surged its way through her.

Laura could feel herself slowly become more and more drained, her efforts to push the woman on top of her off becoming less possible, Carmilla couldn’t stop as her body becomes closer and closer to its full health while Laura couldn’t stop her body become weaker and weaker.

“S-Stop” Laura muttered, her eyelids becoming increasingly heavier. Carmilla growled in response, unable to pull herself away. Laura knew that it was too late. So in her last moments she repeated the words that she said everyday, except that this time, this time that she would say it, it would be so much stronger. “I love you” Laura whispered. “Remember it’s not your fault,” once the words left her mouth, her eyes fluttered to a close.

 _‘I love you’_ the words rattled in her mind. They felt so familiar, so… warm. _‘It’s not worth the warmth.’_

It felt like her heart had exploded inside of her because Carmilla finally managed to tear herself off Laura, ragged breaths raking through her body.

“Laur… Laura?” Carmilla panted, the haze from her mind starting to lift. “Shit, Laura!” The blackness in her eyes dissolved, only leaving the pure fear that shined through. Laura wasn’t moving, her chest still. “Fuck, Laura I’m so sorry, I couldn’t stop I-”

“She doesn’t have to die.” Vordenberg emerged from the shadows, the moon now shining proudly above them in the midnight light.

“What?” Carmilla replied confused, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“You can bring her back.” Vordenbeg stepped closer, knowing that right now Carmilla wouldn’t dare to kill him.

“The fuck do you mean?” She spat harshly.

“You have a few minutes, if you make a promise to me, I will tell you how to bring her back.” Carmilla was silent only for a quick few moments before giving in.

“What do you want?”

“Just simply that in the future, you owe me. You are in my debt.” Vordenberg explained, a cold grin spreading on his face. “What do you say?”

“Can you guarantee that she will come back?” her voice was so fragile it was as if it was glass.

“If you act now then yes.” Carmilla looked backed towards Laura. She really didn’t have a choice.

“Fine. You have deal now tell me how to bring her back.” Vordenberg smiled icily before reaching for the bloodied dagger on the grass, shuffling closer to Carmilla and handing it out towards her.

“Slice your hand and let the blood go into her mouth” he instructed. Carmilla was so broken and weak she didn’t question it, shakily slicing the middle of her hand and using her other to gently open Laura’s mouth. Hovering her hand over the entrance she squeezed and watched without breathing as the red droplets fell in.

There was a long moment of deafening silence where Carmilla thought she was too late. But then Carmilla realized why people prayed and believed in another being for miracles because it actually worked.

 

Laura’s eyes snapped open, and she breathed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shit hit the fan fam (sorry not sorry)


End file.
